Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers) (32 page)

“He didn’t explain anything?” Kendall asked.

“Nothing that made sense. He said I was more powerful than he’d thought.”

“Powerful? He was talking about your curse?” Kendall asked.

“I guess.”

“Did he know where it came from?” Jake asked. “I mean it is odd that your eyes look like his when you go into adrenaline mode.”

“He didn’t say where it came from. He did say I wasn’t supposed to be normal.”

“That doesn’t sound like a curse,” Kendall said. “I’ve never thought it was a curse.”

“On another note, Brandi had alarming information,” Nathan said.

“She seems to be the bearer of bad news,” Jake said. “What’s it this time?”

Nathan looked grim. “The Reaper might have a child.”

The color drained from Kendall’s face. “I think it’s me.”

“What?”

“She thinks the Reaper may be her father,” Jake said.

Nathan looked stunned. “Bloody hell.”

“That’s pretty much what I said,” Jake said.

“Why would you think that?” Nathan asked.

“That shadow in the cave felt familiar. And dark. I think he recognized me.”

“He probably knows everything about us,” Jake said.

“You said your father took you to the castle. The Reaper can’t pass the statues,” Nathan said.

“He could have found a way past, or stolen someone’s key. Marco said there was an attack after Adam and I left the castle and that many of the Protettori were destroyed. He must have found a way through.”

“Or sent his minions to do his dirty work, like he did Edward,” Jake said.

“Even if he is the Reaper,” Nathan said, “it doesn’t change who you are.”

“We could speculate all day about who the Reaper is,” Jake said. “We need to focus on stopping him. Let’s wait a couple of hours. Then we’ll go check out this priest hole.”

“Priest hole?” Nathan asked.

They explained the hidden entrance to the Tor. “We might need equipment,” Jake said, “but we can at least see if it’s a tunnel or just a hiding place. Marco thinks it’s a tunnel.”

“Marco knows?” Nathan asked.

“Marco and Fergus are here.”

“Bloody hell. I told them to stay away. Fergus takes orders as well as Jake.”

“You’d better take a shower. Fergus might panic if he sees blood on you,” Jake said.

“Fergus has seen me at my worst,” Nathan said. “A little blood won’t derail him.”

“He knows about your condition?” Kendall asked.

Nathan nodded. “He’s been trying to convince me to see a doctor. Lot of good that’ll do. This isn’t science or medicine. It’s a freak show.”

“Fergus brought our things from Italy. Jake, run down and get his bag,” Kendall ordered.

And leave the two of them alone? Jake grunted and walked to the door.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Kendall said. “We were worried about you.”

Nathan gave a humorless laugh. “I doubt Jake worried too much.”

“A lot more than he lets on.”

Nathan looked at the bed. “Is everything OK with you?”

Kendall was sure she was blushing. Nathan stared at her, his jaw tight, until she felt like she would burst with guilt. She nodded. “Nathan, we’re…”

“I’m going to shower.” Nathan got up and walked to the bathroom.

Kendall sat on the chair and felt like crying. She didn’t want
to hurt him or Jake. She cared for them both. She went to the kitchenette and heated up some soup in case he might be hungry.

The door opened and Jake stepped in, carrying Nathan’s bag. Fergus was behind him.

“Isn’t Marco with you?” Kendall asked.

“He’s sleeping,” Fergus said. “Forgive my appearance. I was in bed as well.” His hair was perfectly groomed and his manner formal, even though he was in pajamas. “Where is Nathan?”

“He’s in the shower,” Kendall said. “I heated up some soup for him.”

“You left the room?” Jake asked.

“Just to go down the hall for a can of soup. You know, Art is watching our room.”

“I saw him earlier. He was worried about you. He thought you were in here with a dead man.”

“Art did?” Kendall asked, surprised.

“Who is Art?” Fergus asked.

“The kid who told you where to find us before,” Jake said. “He was the one who found the dead body.”

Fergus’s eyebrows shot up. “Dead body?”

“Someone was killed in the abbey earlier,” Kendall said. “We thought it was Nathan.”

Nathan walked out of the bathroom at that moment, wrapped in a towel.

“Obviously it wasn’t,” Jake said.

“Who was killed?” Fergus asked.

“We don’t know,” Nathan said. “But he attacked me. We think Brandi killed him.”

“Oh my,” Fergus said. “She does get around.”

Nathan walked over and sat on the small sofa. He looked exhausted, but his eyes never left Kendall. It was an effort not to
return the stare. Other than in his dark bedroom, she’d never seen him without a shirt.

“Are you all right, Nathan?” Fergus asked. “You don’t look well.”

“I’m confused and I’m hungry,” he said, looking at Kendall. He’d been doing that a lot since their kiss.

Nathan had never kissed her. It must have been to prove that he wasn’t a ghost, but the kiss had taken her by surprise. It had felt good. What was wrong with her? The bed was barely cold from making love with Jake.

“I heated up some soup,” she said, pointing to the cup on the table. “It should still be hot. The drinkable kind is all they had. This one’s pretty good.”

He moved to the table. “Thank you.” Usually, she couldn’t read anything except his body language, and Kendall was certain he guarded even that. But this time she felt his hurt.

She looked away so he didn’t see her eyes. “You have a cut on your neck. I’ll get the first aid kit.” It wasn’t deep, but no telling where he’d gotten it. While he drank the soup and Fergus fussed over him, Kendall got the small kit she’d seen in the bathroom. She carried it to Nathan and pulled up a chair beside him.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked.

“Putting a bandage on his cut.” And studying his tattoo. It looked like a circle with lines crisscrossing the middle. She was certain she’d seen that design somewhere before. After a moment, she realized why it was familiar.

“Can’t he do that?” Jake muttered.

She clenched her jaw and touched Nathan’s neck to examine the wound. She and Nathan both jumped. “Sorry, I’m jumpy.”

“If you’re jumpy, let Fergus take over,” Jake said, still scowling.

“I’ll manage,” she said. The cut was small, but given the location, just above his jugular vein, she wondered if his attacker had been trying to slit his throat. He tilted his head so she could work on the cut. Jake stood by while she finished the job, brows drawn together like a disapproving chaperone. There was no denying that she was drawn to Nathan. Up close, his body was as sexy as Jake’s. In fact, their bodies looked a lot alike. That sent her thoughts to places they didn’t belong. She felt a blush flood her cheeks.
I am not a floozy. They just both happen to be very good-looking men.
Any woman would be attracted to them. Even if she was already halfway in love with Jake.

In love with Jake. That was the first time she had really admitted it to herself.

She jumped up as soon as she was finished and took the first aid kit back to the bathroom. She examined her reflection to see if she was as flushed as she felt. She was. She wet a cloth and pressed it to her cheeks. She walked back into the room, grabbing a bottle of water she’d brought from the kitchenette. She unscrewed the lid and took a long drink.

“You look overheated,” Jake said, appearing at her side.

Kendall almost choked. “It’s been an emotional hour,” she said, wiping her mouth where the water had spilled down her chin.

“I know. I saw you kissing him.”

“He was just proving that he wasn’t dead. I thought he was dead. He kept saying he wasn’t. Ghosts don’t kiss.”

Jake’s jaw got even tighter. “They also don’t shake hands. Guess that wasn’t good enough.” He picked up Nathan’s bag by the door and walked across the room. “I’m sure you wanna get dressed,” he said, dropping it on the table.

He and Nathan shared one of their testosterone-loaded looks. Nathan took the bag and went to the bathroom. Kendall
glanced at Fergus and thought he rolled his eyes. He caught her looking and put on his butler face.

“I should get back and check on Marco,” Fergus said. “I don’t like leaving him alone for long.”

“I’m surprised how well he’s doing,” Kendall said.

“He improved right after you left.”

“Maybe he was faking,” Jake said.

Fergus shook his head. “I don’t think so. He seems to heal quickly.”

“Something in the water, I guess,” Jake said.

“He talked about drinking a lot after you left. I thought he was asking for water, but he didn’t want water. Then he mentioned something about the fountain. I thought he was rambling.”

“He didn’t have anything unusual to drink, did he?” Kendall asked.

“I found a small vial under his bed. I asked the nurse about it. She hadn’t seen it. It looked old, like something in one of Nathan’s collections, but Marco hadn’t left the bed.”

“Where could it have come from?” Kendall asked.

“It was right after Raphael vanished,” Fergus said. “Perhaps he gave it to Marco.”

“Nathan said Raphael saw Marco,” Jake said.

Kendall nodded. “And Raphael told us that the water from the fountain is how he recovered.”

“You mean how he went from being dead to being alive,” Jake said.

“You think it was water from
the
fountain?” Fergus asked.

“It could have been,” Kendall said. “Marco is certainly doing better now. When I was in the room in the castle with the mural and the round table, I saw some vials and cups. That must have been water from the fountain.”

“Oh my. There was a bit left in the bottom and I dumped it out.”

“I wish you’d kept it,” Kendall said.

“I wish I had drunk it,” Fergus said.

Nathan came out of the bathroom dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and boots. What was up with him? A tattoo? Jeans? She had thought for a while that he might be hiding behind his money, suits, and no-nonsense manner. Now she was even more suspicious.

Fergus stood. “Will I see you in the room later?” he asked Nathan.

Nathan shook his head. “No. I’m sleeping here.”

Jake lifted a brow. “You are?”

“I am.” Nathan sat down at the table.

Fergus frowned as he passed Kendall. “Will you keep an eye on him?” he whispered.

Kendall nodded. When the door closed behind Fergus, she sat at the table. “This has been a crazy, intense night, but we have work to do and not much time. Raphael said those lights over the Tor are the Reaper trying to come through. We have to stop him before he gets the chalice to the Fountain of Youth.”

“Isn’t this the Protettori’s job?” Jake asked.

“I think the Protettori need help,” Kendall said.

Jake leaned on the table, his brow furrowed. “We need a strategy and weapons.”

“First, we need knowledge.” She opened the journal.

“Did you make sense of it?” Nathan asked.

“It seems to be a mix of Latin, Italian, and Old English. I think I’ve found references to the Fountain of Life, hidden within sacred ground, and Beacon at Sea. Long ago, the Tor was surrounded by water. The mountain was referred to as a beacon. And it was considered a sacred place by ancient civilizations. I
think we all agree that the Tor is probably where the fountain is hidden.”

“We just have to figure out how to get inside,” Nathan said.

“Easier said than done,” Jake said.

“Not necessarily.” She turned the journal to another page and pointed out a tiny sketch. A circle. “I think I’ve seen this symbol on the cave wall.” She touched Nathan’s shoulder. “And on your arm. Your tattoo.”

D
ON
’
T TELL ME
you dreamed about the wheel too,” Jake said.

Nathan looked almost embarrassed. “OK.”

“Hell, is there anything about this stuff you haven’t dreamed?”

“You did dream about it, didn’t you?” Kendall asked.

Nathan nodded. “A lot. In a… disturbed moment, I had it tattooed on me.”

“I’ll translate that to a drunken moment,” Jake said. “So you’re a walking map.”

“I think if we can find that symbol again, we’ll find the entrance to the Fountain of Youth,” Kendall said. “The second part is the chalice.” Kendall turned to the sketches. “We know these four sketches are probably the relics.” She pointed to one that resembled a bowl. “This one… I think this is the Holy Grail. In fact, I saw it in a vision, and I’m almost certain that’s what it is.”

“You saw it?” Nathan asked.

She nodded. “It was amazing. I’ll tell you all about it when we have more time.”

Jake looked so sullen she would have slapped him, but she was so glad they were both sitting at the table alive and well that she ignored his bad humor.

“Also, Raphael looked shocked when I told him King Arthur said to find the chalice. And we know what King Arthur’s quest was.”

“The Holy Grail,” Nathan said. “Brandi said the Reaper was searching for it.”