Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers) (36 page)

She heard a roar as she ran back toward Nathan and Jake, but it was hard to tell what was happening in the dark. Flashlights
cut haphazardly through the darkness as the men fought. Two bright orbs turned toward her. Nathan.

There were only two men left. Nathan threw one against the wall while Jake took on the other one. Kendall was close enough now to clearly see what was happening. Jake pinned the man on the ground, facedown with his arm twisted behind his back. He pressed his blade against his throat. “Where’s the Reaper?”

The man laughed. “It doesn’t matter what you do to me. He’ll win.”

Jake raked the blade lightly across the man’s neck, and the laughter stopped. “I can cut your head off quick, or a little at a time. Where’s the Reaper?”

“In there. Behind the wall.”

“How do we get in?”

“You can’t. It’s those damned statues. He said to stay out here, keep everyone away. Except her. He wants her.”

“Kendall?” Jake asked.

Nathan moved up beside them so quickly, he appeared to be gliding. With his glowing eyes, Kendall could almost believe he was a vampire or werewolf.

“What the hell is that?” the man asked, looking at Nathan.

“I’ll let you find out if you don’t tell us what you know,” Jake said. “Why does the Reaper want Kendall?”

“He wants her gift. He needs to know if the chalice is the Holy Grail.”

Nathan moved beside Kendall and looked at her with those fiery eyes. She could feel some kind of energy coming from him. Slowly, she reached for his hand. He jerked, but he didn’t pull away.

“Don’t let him near me,” the man said.

Jake pressed the knife harder. “Don’t worry about him. Worry about my knife. How did the Reaper know Kendall would be here?”

“He knows things. He said she’d come.”

“How are you supposed to let him know she’s here?”

“He said bang on the wall three times and he’ll let her in, that she has a cross, whatever the hell that means.”

“You’d better start knocking,” Jake said, pulling the man to his feet. “One sound out of you to warn him and forget slitting your throat. I’ll turn Nathan loose on you.”

“The Reaper will kill me.”

“You’re already dead,” Jake said. “You’re just deciding whether it’s fast or slow.”

He shoved the man in the direction he pointed. The others were dead, lying behind them. They walked for a minute and the humming grew louder. “Hear that noise?” the man asked in a shaky voice. “The entrance is here somewhere. I have to look for a mark.”

“Is this it?” Kendall asked, pointing to the circle that looked like a wheel, like the one in Nathan’s journal and on his shoulder.

“Yeah. That’s it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. It looks like a wheel.”

Jake did something really fast, and the man slumped to the floor.

Kendall jumped back. “Did you kill him?”

Jake didn’t answer. “Nathan, get her out of here.”

“No,” Nathan said. “You take her. I’ll go.”

“Damn you both.” Kendall picked up a rock and banged on the wall three times. “He wants me. He’s probably my father. You two stay back.”

There was a grinding noise, and a section of the wall began to open. A beautiful light emerged from the widening crack. A dark figure stood in the middle, shrouded by the glow.

T
HE STATUES HUMMED
louder as the shadow moved toward Kendall.

“You came.” His voice was smooth, sharp, quiet, forceful. It was everything. It was nothing.

She touched the cross around her neck and stepped through the opening in the wall. She glanced back and saw Jake step through, then take off his cross and toss it to Nathan, who followed.

“That’s not necessary,” the Reaper said. “As long as you’re touching someone who’s wearing a cross, you’re safe. Brandi came with Marco.”

Brandi and Marco were pinned against a wall, but no constraints were visible. Brandi struggled, glaring at the Reaper with hatred. Marco just watched everything. It was impossible to tell if he was cognizant or not.

“Come in, please.” He was still shadowed, with the compelling light behind him.

He turned, and Kendall saw his face for the first time. Maybe the second time, maybe the hundredth. She didn’t know. He didn’t look like her father or the man from the Italian inn or the historian he’d impersonated, but he did have on that red ring.

Kendall glanced quickly around the room. Nathan was right when he said it looked like a Roman temple. There were beautiful columns and a vaulted ceiling, beautifully painted as Nathan had described. The light in the room was warm. The source seemed to come from an opening in the floor. One statue stood a few feet away. Its presence might have been comforting if not for the Reaper standing in front of her. Obviously, he had found a way through the middle of the statues as Raphael feared he was trying to do. Where was Raphael? Had the Reaper killed him?

Nathan and Jake stood close beside Kendall. She could feel the tension radiating off them, but the Reaper seemed to be ignoring them for the moment. She knew from the power emanating from him that it was only an illusion. He was aware of everything happening in the room. She hoped he didn’t know about Nathan. She could feel that he hadn’t changed. Shocking, since even her adrenaline was surging, but she was glad he was controlling it, because she was certain it would be a very bad thing for the Reaper to see Nathan change.

“I’m sure you’re here for the same reason I am. The chalice and the fountain. With your remarkable gift, I imagine you’ve discovered what happens when I combine the two.”

“Eternal youth?” Kendall said.

“Yes.” The Reaper studied her, his eyes roving over her face.

What color were they? She couldn’t tell. She had been looking for some signs of her father, but she couldn’t get anything from him. Not even the glimpse of familiarity she had gotten before. He was like a holographic image, appearing one way, but different from another angle.

“You must think me greedy. Evil.”

“You’ve killed for this. What would you call it?” Kendall asked.

“Necessity,” the Reaper said. “Sometimes terrible things are necessary for the better good.”

“Whose better good? Not the men you’ve killed.” Kendall glanced at Brandi, still pinned, her eyes burning with hatred. “Or the families you’ve destroyed.”

The Reaper glanced at Brandi. “That is unfortunate. I wish I hadn’t taken Brandi’s father. I did not intend to destroy her family. I simply needed the relics he possessed.” He held up his finger, showing the ruby ring. “This ring is powerful. It gives me health and strength.”

“Why do you need them if it’s not for greed? What is so necessary?”

“I don’t know that I could explain my motives. You, of all people, might understand, but I won’t go into detail now. I will ask a favor of you. I would like for you to touch the chalice and tell me if it’s real.”

“Why?”

“There are consequences that I would prefer to avoid if it isn’t the Holy Grail.”

“Why would I do this?”

“For your friends. If you do this for me, I will let them live. If you don’t, I will kill them.”

“Where is the chalice?”

“Nearby. Will you do this for me?”

Kendall nodded.

“Very good. I’m afraid Nathan and Jake will have to join Marco and Brandi while we work.” The Reaper did something with his hands and Jake flew against the wall, pinned like he had been by her father in the chapel in Italy. Nathan wasn’t so easily moved. His eyes instantly changed. He let out a roar and ran toward the Reaper.

The Reaper put up a hand as if to say hello, and Nathan stopped in midstride. He appeared to be blocked by some kind of wall. “What… is… this?” the Reaper asked, enunciating each word with awe. He stood with his hand raised, expression stunned, studying Nathan like a rare specimen at a zoo. “It can’t be.” He blinked and the shock faded from his face. His expression took on a look of delight, and Kendall started to pick up something familiar. Then he changed again.

While Nathan was stuck there, his eyes went back to normal. The Reaper raised his hand and sent him into the wall beside Jake. “For now,” he said. He walked close and studied both men, staring at them for the longest time.

“Is it possible, Marco?”

Marco didn’t answer. He watched the Reaper calmly, as if waiting for a hand of cards to be dealt. “Well now. That changes things.” The Reaper appeared almost shaken as he walked over to a table near one of the statues. He looked up at the stone sentinel as he approached. A look crossed his face, perhaps arrogance, perhaps fear.

He removed a chalice from the box. It was wide, metal, bluish tinged, with engravings on the side.

“I envy your gift,” he said. “I have many abilities, but not this.” He handed the chalice to Kendall. “Tell me what you see and I’ll release… your friends.”

Kendall took the chalice in her hands. It was cold, but she felt energy coming from it. She closed her eyes. It was hard to focus, hard not to think about the others trapped against the wall. She had to do this for them. The Reaper might kill them all, but there was a chance he wouldn’t if she cooperated. If she didn’t, she was certain they were all dead.

She let the sensations move from her fingertips to her mind. The chalice was old. There was energy radiating from it, but it
wasn’t the chalice she’d seen at the well. This wasn’t the Holy Grail. She dreaded to tell the Reaper for fear he would kill them in anger. Then she saw the Reaper drinking from the chalice. The image was so clear. If she hadn’t held the chalice in her own hands, she would have believed she was seeing the Reaper drinking from it for real. She saw him cry out and fall to the ground, and when his face turned up to curse her, he looked older.

Kendall kept her eyes closed, pretending to examine the chalice while she decided what to do. The Reaper feared using the chalice if it wasn’t the Holy Grail. He had said there were consequences if he used the chalice and it wasn’t authentic. Would it kill him or just weaken him? If the Reaper could be weakened, perhaps Nathan could defeat him.

She opened her eyes. “It’s very old and powerful. I can feel the energy coming from it.”

“Is it the Holy Grail?”

“Yes. Please don’t do this,” she said, trying to make her lie seem authentic.

“There is no choice, really.” He moved closer to her and touched his hands to each side of her face.

She heard Jake shouting curses at the Reaper, and growls that must have been coming from Nathan. She felt her mind slipping and knew he was searching her to see if she told the truth. She grabbed for something to think about, something that might block him or distract him. The first thing that came to her mind was Raphael. He had been close to the Reaper. She kept her eyes on the Reaper and her thoughts on Raphael. The Reaper frowned and lowered his hands. He took the chalice from her and held it in front of him. “Then I will drink. Finally.”

He glanced at the wall where Nathan and Jake were still struggling to get free. Nathan’s eyes were like flames again, and
he seemed to be making some progress at pulling away from the wall.

Kendall shook her head. “Please,” she mouthed to Nathan and Jake. “Don’t.” She moved her hand quickly over her heart. Anyone else would assume it was just a movement. For her and Adam it meant
trust me.

Nathan stopped moving, watching her with those fiery eyes. He said something to Jake who was watching her as well. His eyes were full of anger, fear… and something else. Love.

The Reaper walked over to a stone on the wall that looked like a wheel, like the marking on the cave wall. He turned the wheel, and Kendall heard a grinding noise. “You should step back.”

Kendall moved, and a large section of the floor began to open, revealing steps. The light grew brighter and she heard running water. She hadn’t heard it before. The humming of the statues had disguised it. Kendall walked to the edge of the steps and looked down. The steps descended to a pool of water. A path divided the pool and led to two streams flowing side by side from the wall. One left a red stain; the other white. The water flowed into a stone bowl, like the one in the sketch from the black journal. A warm light emanated from the bowl. It should have been blinding since it was the source of light for the entire room, but it was soft, enchanting. The Fountain of Youth.

It was simple, not elaborate as she might have expected, other than the light. But she could feel its power from here.

“Would you like to touch it?” he asked.

She glanced at Nathan and Jake and nodded. She walked down the steps with the Reaper and sat beside him, wondering if he was her father, afraid to ask. She was torn between a desperate wish that he was, so she could see him again, and a prayer that he wasn’t, because he was evil. He had hurt people. She dipped her
fingers in the water. Her skin tingled, and she felt an urge to step inside the pool.

“Marvelous, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Do you want to taste it?”

She dipped her fingers in again and looked back at the wall where the others were still trapped. She shook her head.