The Lost Chalice (The Relic Seekers Book 3) (3 page)

Nathan glanced at the closest statue, one of many surrounding the inside of the temple. “You ready?”

Kendall nodded.

Nathan slipped his hand into hers. It was warm and strong. She felt a lump in her throat. Adam was back. Kendall’s heart thudded as they stepped past the nearest statue. All that stood between them and death were the silver crosses hanging around their necks. She didn’t know how they worked, but she had witnessed the horrifying consequence that occurred when someone tried to pass the statues without a cross.

As they moved farther into the room, their gazes were immediately drawn to the golden light seeping through the floor above the Fountain of Youth, as if mere stone couldn’t contain its glory. “I
always wondered if it really existed,” he said. “I guess every treas
ure hunter and collector has.”

“Even we did, when we were kids. You said if we found it we’d drink from it and never grow old. We would search for relics forever.”

Nathan stared at the light, his expression hopeful. “You think it really works? Eternal youth and all that?”

“You’re not still looking for a cure for your
curse
?”

He shrugged.

“You know you have a gift, like Raphael’s.”

“What if I don’t want it?”

Kendall didn’t know what to say. She had a gift. It was frustrating, but she’d had it for so long she couldn’t imagine being without it. It was part of her. She tried to imagine how Nathan must feel, having it appear out of the blue. Sensing things was a lot different than having your body physically change. “Marco said you’re a guardian. You’ve sought relics all your life, whether you admit you’re Adam or not. It’s in your blood. I don’t understand it either, but what better way is there to use your abilities than to protect relics?”

“What if Marco’s wrong about what I am?” Nathan sounded uncertain, like he had when he first admitted to her and Jake that he believed he had a curse.

“You’ve got eyes like Raphael’s,” Kendall said. “That must mean something. You wouldn’t walk away from this, would you?”

“Not as long as you’re part of it.” And though he didn’t say it, wouldn’t even admit it, she knew that inside he was thinking,
I’ll never leave you again
.

She wanted to forget everything and wrap her arms around Nathan and cry. Cry for the lost years, cry that she
’
d found him again, but there were more important things to attend to. It was time to start acting like a keeper, or a keeper in training. If someone would take the time to train her. With Marco’s wandering mind, that task may be left to Raphael, and if he didn’t drink more water, he may not be around to do the job.

“If people find out the fountain is real, the world will become a dangerous place,” Kendall said. The lure of eternal youth would bring out the greedy and ugly side of humanity. There was no telling the lengths people would go to to find it. The Reaper already knew, and he had almost destroyed his brotherhood to secure the fountain.

Nathan’s face grew somber. “Maybe Brandi’s right about destroying the relics so no one can use them.”

“That’s a conversation for another day. For now, we have to save Raphael. He’s probably the key to this puzzle. If anyone can sort out the Reaper’s motives, it’s Raphael.”

“And he should know better than anyone what the chalice looks like. He’s the one who hid it. Wait. What’s that noise?” Nathan turned his head to listen.

“I think it’s the statues,” Kendall said, turning to look at the stone guardians—sentinels, Marco called them—that stood along the edge of the temple. “Hard to believe these were once alive.”

“Sounds like they’re whispering.”

It did sound like someone softly whispering. “Maybe they are.”

“You think . . .” Nathan walked closer to one. He was a tall man, but the statue was taller and broader. If Marco was right about the statues once being alive as guardians, then they were essentially living tombs. Guardians in life, sentinels in death. “I don’t see how they could have once been alive,” Nathan said. “Maybe Marco was confused again.”

“I don’t think so. When I touched them before, I sensed pieces of their lives.”

“What did you feel?” Nathan’s eyes sparked with excitement, reminding her of the dust-covered boy who’d stood on a cliff above her, his enthusiastic grin urging her to hurry and see what he’d found. How had she missed this similarity between Adam and Nathan? Or had she known subconsciously all along, and that was why she’d felt so connected to him?

“You want to see?”

Nathan’s eyes flared. “Yes.”

“Put your hand over mine. I’m not sure this will work, but sometimes it does. It did with Jake.” She felt Nathan stiffen and wished she hadn’t mentioned Jake’s name.

Nathan put his hand over hers, and she slowly reached toward the statue. The sentinel’s stone eyes were open, his hand grasping his sword. Kendall touched the hardened fingers gripping the handle of the blade. The humming sound that the statue emitted flowed into her fingers and up her arm. Colors flashed, and she saw a man with short auburn hair and green eyes. He was outside a house, not the Protettori’s castle in Italy, but a simple house with a thatched roof. He was leading a horse and smiling as he talked. To the horse, she guessed, since she didn’t see anyone else there.

Nathan yanked his hand away.

Kendall pulled back too, and the images disappeared.

“Bloody hell. What was that?”

“That was the sentinel before he was a statue. When he was a live guardian.”

“He was talking to his horse,” Nathan said, his voice hushed with awe.

Kendall looked at the hand that had held the reins, now stone, and the mouth set in a straight line instead of a smile. “Yes,” she said softly. “He looked happy. I wonder what his name was.” If she spent a little more time with him, she may find out. Sometimes her senses were so sharp she could pick up small nuances in addition to larger details. Other times she couldn’t sense anything at all. And she had no idea why or what controlled it.

Nathan’s face wore a troubled frown.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t let anyone find out about you, about what you can do. I’ve got to keep you hidden. Do you know how valuable your gift is?”

“Enough for you to hire me,” Kendall said, making light of the matter. She was comfortable with her gift, but didn’t like feeling different from everyone else.
Guess you’d better get used to it, Miss Relic Keeper.
Even her subconscious was starting to sound like Jake.

“You know what I mean?” Nathan said. “People would kill to use your gifts. Governments, politicians, criminals. You’re as dangerous as the fountain. Makes me want to lock you up in a vault.”

“Don’t even think about it. We’ll just have to keep it a secret. I’ve done that most of my life.” Only her father and Adam had known what she could do. Not even Aunt Edna knew.

Nathan brushed her cheek with his thumb. “But now the Reaper knows. He’s the one I’m worried about.”

“We’re going to beat him, Adam . . . Nathan.” The slip surprised them both. His eyes locked on hers, and something passed between them. Nathan wasn’t the little boy she had adored. He was a man. A handsome, powerful, and very sexy man.

Jake.

The name whispered through her mind, as if he were beside her, glaring at her thought. “All three of us, you, me, and Jake. Five of us, including Marco and Raphael, unless they’re retiring or something, which I hope they’re not, since we don’t have any idea what keepers and guardians really do. We’ll stop him. We have to.”

“Let’s get the water and get out. The sooner we can get some answers from Raphael about what happened in that portal, the better.” They walked to the stone wheel on the wall, which controlled the opening in the floor that led to the fountain. It was similar to the etching in the tunnel and the tattoo on Nathan’s arm. “Do you want to open it?” Nathan asked. “Or shall I?”

“I will.” Kendall stepped up to the wall and placed her hands on the wheel. The sensation hit her with the force of a storm.
He had to find the Holy Grail. It was the only way to save her.
Kendall’s head swam with the intensity of the strange thought, and her body felt as if it weren’t hers. A raw burst of energy caught her off guard and flung her aside. The sensations worsened, as if her body were separating from her head. She heard Nathan calling her name, and when she could focus, she saw him reaching for her, but he seemed to be fading. He cursed and lunged for her, wrapping his arms tight around her.

“Bloody hell. Not again.”

CHAPTER THREE

J
AKE TOOK ANOTHER
sip of soup and stared at Raphael.
No doubt about it. He was snoring. It was comforting in a way. Made him seem ordinary, not like the centuries-old being he was. Better have him snore—even fart—than walk through walls. What was a normal guy to do with that? How was a normal guy supposed to stand a chance with Kendall when Nathan was around? Adam. Jake grunted and moved to take another sip, hitting his tooth on the spoon. He frowned and put the soup down. It was bad enough when Nathan was just a handsome billionaire. Now he was a handsome billionaire who was the lost love of Kendall’s childhood, and he had superpowers. Don’t forget the damned superpowers. And here Jake was sitting in a room drinking soup while they were off exploring like they had when they were best friends. Rekindling old feelings . . . and who knew what else. This would bring them closer than ever.

No way in hell he could beat that. What did he have in his corner? Good sex with her. Really good sex. Amazing sex. That wasn’t enough. He’d acted like an ass when he’d first met her, doubting her, coming on to her like a pervert to keep her at a distance. Which hadn’t worked. She’d seen right through him. But he still didn’t stand a chance. Kendall would probably start acting awkward and distant, and then she’d dump him. Dump him? They weren’t even dating. Not really.

“Damn it.” What was wrong with him? He was acting like a lovesick teenager. He wished Raphael would wake up and get mad again just so he could fight someone and get this bullshit out of his head. Women were nothing but trouble.

But Raphael didn’t wake up, and Jake sat and thought about Kendall while his heart twisted in his chest. After a couple of hours, he was getting worried, stir-crazy, and bored. So bored he was leaning over Raphael, close enough that he could have counted his eyelashes, wondering whether to hit him and wake him, when someone knocked on the door. It wasn’t Fergus’s knock. Kendall. Maybe they’d forgotten the room key.

He hurried to the door, but it wasn’t Kendall. It was the irritating little boy who’d gotten tangled up in the search for the Fountain of Youth. The kid had found a dead body, gotten stuck in a priest hole, and witnessed a kidnapping. Apparently he was back for more. “Art.”

“Hey.”

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“I can’t sleep. I’m excited.” Art stuck his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to talk to somebody.”

“I’m kind of busy.” Jake felt bad for the kid. He was annoying as hell, but Jake remembered what it felt like to want someone to talk to. He’d been lonely and closed off until he’d met Lilly, his friend at the orphanage in India.

“Oh.” Art’s face scrunched up, making his freckles look like they were moving. “I thought you were alone. I saw Guinevere and the other knight leave.”

“Guinevere?”

“The blond woman. I guess she’s Guinevere, not the redheaded lady like I thought at first. Guinevere wouldn’t steal the chalice.”

Brandi was the redheaded lady, and she had stolen the Blue Chalice in hopes it was the Holy Grail. But it wasn’t. “They should have been back by now. So what were they doing, the knight and Guinevere?”

“Their heads were real close.”

“Kissing?”

“Yuck. No, talking. I think. Then they got in the car. The red-haired lady was watching them.”

“Did she follow them?”

“I don’t know.”

Jake felt a twinge of panic. Brandi knew the location of the fountain, and she wanted it destroyed like the other relics. If she followed Kendall and Nathan, she could steal one of their crosses and get inside the temple. But Jake couldn’t see Brandi taking on Nathan and Kendall with their Protettori abilities. Nathan still freaked her out. Still . . . she had said she’d kill anyone in her way.

Jake rubbed a hand through his hair. “I’ve got to go do something.”

“Can I come?” Art asked.

“No. Go to sleep. Your mom must be worried.”

“She took a sleeping pill. She’ll be out for hours.”

What about Raphael? He couldn’t leave him alone. He’d called Fergus earlier, but he hadn’t answered. He and Marco were probably exhausted after their narrow escape from the Reaper. Jake looked at Art. No way. Kendall would kill him if he let Art babysit Raphael. “I changed my mind. I need your help after all.”

Art perked up. “What do you want me to do?”

“You know which room the older men with us were staying in?”

“You mean Merlin and the man in the suit, Fergie?”

“Fergus, not Fergie.”

“I like Fergie better. It reminds me of Frankie.”

Frankie was Art’s pet snake. “You can take that up with Fergus, though I’m not sure he’ll like being nicknamed after a snake. You know which room they’re in?” Art nodded, and Jake suspected the kid knew who was in every room. “Ask them to come here and keep an eye on Raphael.”

“Is Raphael another knight?”

“Uh, yeah. He’s hurt. Remember your promise,” Jake said. “Secrecy.”

Art held up his fingers in the Scout’s salute. “I’m not gonna tell anyone but Frankie.”

Jake returned the salute, and at the last second, he clapped Art on the shoulder. “Camelot is depending on you. Hurry.”

As soon as Art left, Jake checked on Raphael, grabbed his pack, and drove the rental car to the Tor. Nathan’s car was still parked there. Jake couldn’t think of any good reason for that. Maybe Brandi had kidnapped them. Or killed them. Or the Reaper had come back. Or maybe Kendall and Nathan were reacquainting themselves in private.

Jake ran so fast up the long path, he was out of breath by the time he reached the hidden entrance to the mountain. Moving quietly, he followed the passageway to the engraved wheel marking the door to the secret temple that housed the Fountain of Youth. After checking to make sure he had his cross, he pushed the catch. The door opened, and Jake stepped inside.

The place reminded him of a Roman temple, with stone floors and walls and columns throughout. The only light came from a faint glow in the floor, where hidden steps led to the Fountain of Youth. There were three rooms, the large central room, the smaller room where Nathan had been held captive by Raphael, and the room containing the three marble tombs.

Statues were spaced evenly around the perimeter of the temple like an elaborate version of Stonehenge. But according to Marco, these weren’t just chunks of stone. They had once been living men, ancient guardians—like Raphael—but had been turned to sentinels. Jake didn’t know if that were true, but he knew they could kill a man.

How they could be turned from flesh to stone and why they hadn’t died were more questions on the growing list of things Marco and Raphael hadn’t fully explained.

“Kendall? Nathan?” No one answered. Where were they? Jake approached the wheel that opened the floor to the fountain. Kendall’s scent still lingered, so he knew she’d been here. How could he have missed them? He hadn’t seen anyone on his way here. Had they gotten trapped down by the fountain? He grabbed the wheel. It was cold against his fingers and palms. As the wheel turned, a section of the floor began to open, and the light grew brighter as the Fountain of Youth was revealed. Jake hurried down the wide steps to the pool of water, which was fed by two streams flowing from the wall into a bowl that overflowed into the pool. One stream was stained red, the other white. The light was strongest in the bowl, but otherwise it was ordinary looking. Simple. But this bowl wasn’t ordinary. It was the Fountain of Youth.

Jake was more concerned about what wasn’t here. Kendall and Nathan. Jake went back up the steps to search the rest of the temple, and he noticed something that made his heart wrench with fear.

Raphael’s vial lay behind a table near the wheel.