Guardians of Stone (The Relic Seekers) (14 page)

She didn’t join him until after he opened the lid. There was nothing left of the body but bones swathed in a dark robe. They moved closer, standing side by side, the only two creatures breathing in this place of death. At least on two legs, he thought, as something squeaked past his boot.

“Is this it?” he asked, looking at the empty sockets and mocking grin. All skeletons looked the same. Like they were laughing at death.

The monk’s hands were crossed over his abdomen. Time had eased its grip on the bones. One white finger protruded from the sleeve of his robe.

Kendall nodded but didn’t speak. Her hands hovered over the monk. “It’s here,” she said.

Jake heard a tiny noise behind them and pulled out his gun. He had a knot in his gut now that definitely wasn’t caused by bones. “Hurry.” Whoever attacked her would eventually come back.

Kendall gently pulled back the sleeve of the robe. Underneath the monk’s hands, hidden in the folds of his robe, was a box like the one in Nathan’s drawing. She’d found it.

“You ever play the lottery?”

“A few times,” she said. “That’s not how my gift works.”

He put his gun back and opened his pack, pulling out a shirt to wrap the box in. When he reached for it, Kendall grabbed his hand.

“No. Something’s wrong.”

“’Course it is. We’re disturbing the dead.” Jake reached for the box again and heard a click behind them.

“Don’t touch that.”

He spun, reaching for his gun, and a beam of light hit him in the eyes, blinding him.

“Touch the gun, Jake, and she dies,” a voice said.

He eased his hand away from the gun, surprised. The man knew his name. He must be Thomas. When the light lowered, Jake saw three men dressed in monk’s robes, their faces covered by hoods. They were all armed. He could probably take them, but he couldn’t risk Kendall getting caught in the cross fire. He would have to get her to safety first.

One of the thieves pointed his gun at Kendall’s chest. “Drop your flashlight and gun and move away from her. Play the hero, and I’ll have to kill her.” It was the one who’d called him Jake.

“Now, move away from the coffin. Over there, outside the alcove.”

Jake kept Kendall behind him as they moved. “When I give the word, find someplace to hide,” he whispered.

“Give me your necklace,” the thief demanded, reaching for it.

Kendall clutched her cross. “Why?”

“You know why. Give it to me now.”

Kendall took off the necklace and handed it to the man. The thief lifted it to examine it, and the beam from his light fell on his face. Jake was sure he’d seen the man before. Thomas? He didn’t have a beard, but Thomas’s could have been fake.

Jake was waiting for them to go for the box. Once they were distracted he’d make his move.

The thief stuck the cross in a leather bag and one of the others reached for the box, dislodging the corpse’s hands. Jake started to move when a whirring noise filled the catacombs. Kendall shoved him out of the way as a barrage of rocks shot over the coffin like cannonballs. Flashlight beams danced around the catacombs like strobe lights on a disco floor. Judging by the yelps of pain, a few of the stones must have hit their mark. Kendall had warned Jake just in time.

When the assault stopped, Jake pushed Kendall aside. “Now.”

Before the thieves could retrieve their fallen flashlights, he dropped to the floor, kicking the legs of the man who was still standing. One of the others grabbed his flashlight but Jake kicked it out of his hand, and then added a kick to the man’s ribs. He grunted and Jake hurried to the spot where he’d pushed Kendall. A shot rang out before he could get to her and she screamed. Was she hurt?

“Bitch! She bit me.”

He had two choices: kill the thieves now, or take advantage of the darkness and get Kendall to safety. Only one of the men posed a real threat—the one who knew him. Jake decided to play it safe and get Kendall out of harm’s way. He found her by scent and grabbed her.

“It’s me,” he whispered. He pulled her into the small space behind a nearby coffin. “Don’t make a sound.” He lay down in front of her, shielding her as the men cursed and scrambled for their flashlights.

“Where’d they go?” the first thief asked, shining his light close to their hiding place.

“Who cares? Let’s get out of here. I’m bleeding. One of those damned rocks nearly took off my ear.”

“But we’re supposed to—”

“He’ll never know.”

“Then take their flashlights and gun. Let the catacombs kill them.”

There was a rush of feet and the lights disappeared, leaving the night cold and still. Jake lay there a second longer until he was sure they were gone.

“Stay here. I’m going after them. I’ll come back for you when it’s safe.”

“You’re not leaving me here.”

He didn’t blame her. He’d risk getting shot rather than stay in here with all these bones.

“Besides, you can’t go after them alone,” Kendall said. “That’s three against one.”

He wasn’t worried about the odds. He just needed her out of the way.

“If you leave me here, I’ll follow you,” she added, and he knew she would.

He climbed out of the hiding place and then helped her out. “Then be quiet and come on. We have to hurry before they get away.”

“I can’t see anything,” Kendall said.

“I think there’s another light in my pack. I put it down when we found the box.” Jake stooped and fumbled in the darkness, trying to hurry before the men got away with the key. If they didn’t get it back, he and Kendall would become two more sets of bones for the tomb’s collection. He found his second flashlight in an inside pocket. He turned it on and the light flashed over Kendall. She looked like she’d been rolling on the floor. “Let’s go. We have to move fast.”

“What are we going to do when we catch them?”

“I’m going to sneak up on them.”

He was disgusted that he’d let them get the drop on him, all because he was worried about Kendall and a bunch of dried bones. This was the last time he was going on a job with a woman. If Nathan didn’t understand, he’d just have to send Jake back.

He reached the closed door to the catacombs but they were too late.

“We’re trapped.” Kendall moved up beside him, studying the door. “Do you think you can open it with your knife?”

“I doubt it.” He tried his knife and some other tools from his pack, but nothing worked.

“Maybe Raphael will discover us missing and come looking for us,” Kendall said.

“I don’t think we want him to find us here.”

Kendall hugged her arms. “If we don’t report in, I guess Nathan will start searching for us eventually. He must know where the castle is located by now.”

Eventually might not be soon enough. And he wasn’t sure he trusted the Almighty Nathan, not after that thief recognized him. It raised a hell of a lot of questions that couldn’t possibly have good answers. And the only connection was Nathan.

“He won’t come looking for us just yet.” But when he did, he’d better have some answers. Jake swung his light into the catacomb. “Come on. There must be another way out.”

The catacombs had hundreds of residents. They searched for a couple of hours, digging through nooks and crannies, shoving aside coffins and desecrating bones, always watching for booby traps. There was no way out.

“I think we’re stuck here for the night,” Jake said, dropping his pack near a small recess in the wall. “We can bed down here.” The small space would conserve body heat, keeping the wall at their backs and a line of sight to the main corridor.

“I hope there aren’t any more booby traps,” Kendall said.

“They’re probably limited to the area around the box. How’d you know what that last one was?”

“We ran into a similar one in Egypt. A slingshot device with a wire attached to a sarcophagus.”

“Did you get hurt?”

“One of my friends cut his arm.”

His? “What kind of friend?”

“He was an archaeologist.”

“Did you kiss his injury and make it better?”

“You’re impossible.” Kendall pulled her jacket tighter around her. “Is your thermal blanket in there?” she asked, looking at his pack.

She wouldn’t have known about it if she hadn’t snooped in his pack. He pulled out the thin blanket and spread it on the floor.

“Do you have another one?”

“No. You should’ve packed a blanket instead of a makeup kit.” He was only partially teasing. He’d looked in her bag and knew she carried some makeup. She didn’t need it. “I’m surprised that a woman who’s used to sleeping under the desert stars doesn’t have something to keep her warm.”

“I lost mine, along with my spare flashlight. I didn’t have a chance to replace them. This trip was unexpected. I should have thought about it when we stopped for supplies.” She plunked down on the blanket. “What if the thieves come back?”

“I don’t think they will. They got what they wanted.”

“We have to get the box back.”

“Thanks for warning me not to touch it. Guess I owe you one.”

“I think we’re even. It wasn’t just the trap. That box scares me. I don’t know what’s in it, but it’s powerful.”

“Evil?”

“I don’t know, but we have to find it.”

“You’re starting to sound like Nathan.” Which made Jake wonder what the hell was in the box. “After we’ve rested, we’ll find a way out. Whoever made that fancy door must have built another entrance. They might have an opening in the top to let in light and air. You get some sleep. You got pretty banged up in that fall. I’ll keep watch.”

She lay down on the blanket. “We don’t have enough food and water to last very long.”

“We have protein bars. And if we get desperate, we can drink urine.” He sat down and leaned against the wall, positioning himself so he could see if anyone came from either direction.

“I’d rather die of thirst.”

“Then you’ve never been really thirsty.” He turned the flashlight off to conserve batteries.

“Have you?” Her voice was soft in the darkness.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“I’ve spent time in the desert too. I got stuck there once. It wasn’t fun.”

“Drinking urine is beyond gross.”

“It’s better than dying.”

He felt her eyes on him in the dark.

“Whose urine?” she asked.

“Mine.”

“What were you doing in the desert?”

“On assignment.”

“For Nathan?”

“No. That was before I met him.”

“What kind of assignment was it?”

“We were looking for some buried coins. Aren’t you tired?”

“Why do you hate talking about yourself?”

“I’m not that interesting.”

“When it comes to privacy, you’re as bad as Nathan. Are you sure you aren’t tired?”

“I’m fine.” He spoiled it by yawning.

“Liar.” He heard shuffling and saw the dim glow of her watch. “It’s two in the morning,” she said. “You should get some sleep too.”

“You just want my body heat.”

She snorted. “I don’t need it. I have your blanket.”

But Kendall was right. He was tired and the thieves were probably long gone. He lay down beside her, close enough that they could share heat, yet not so close that she would think he was taking advantage of her. Then he decided that she could use some distraction from the thought of thieves, booby traps, and those damned grinning skulls. He let his leg touch hers. She
jerked like he’d poked her with a hot iron. Before she could speak, he rolled over and faced her. “It’s going to get colder. We’ll need each other’s heat. Scoot to the edge and turn around.” When she did, he pulled the excess blanket over both of them, trying not to press closer, which is what he wanted to do. He adjusted his arm and his hand brushed her breast. “Sorry.”

“Was that an accident?”

“If I’d done it on purpose, you would have known.”

“Do it again and you’ll be carrying your balls home in your backpack.” The harsh words lacked punch, and he noticed she didn’t move away.

They lay in silence for several minutes. He could almost hear Kendall’s wheels turning as fast as his own. “Why do you hate bones?” she asked.

“It’s a long story.” One he didn’t want to tell.

After a minute, she spoke. “I was trapped in a tomb once. One of the boards fell, blocking the entrance. I was terrified.”

“How’d you get out?” he asked, pressing a little closer, not because he wanted to—though he did—but because she was still shivering.

“Adam found me.”

“Adam?”

“He was my best friend.”

“Where’s Adam now?”

“He died in a plane crash when he was twelve.”

Jake felt a hand squeeze his gut, but he refused to let the memory in now. The past was done. He had to make sure Kendall had a future.

“What if we don’t get out?” she said.

“We will.”

“Promise?” Her voice was a whisper.

“I promise.”

The catacombs got chillier and they snuggled closer as he listened to the stillness of night. It always amazed him how many
sounds could be heard in a place where there was silence. The sound of her breathing. His own breath. Tiny scurrying sounds, an occasional bone being dislodged, hopefully by the scurrying critters and not the bone’s owner. Even the air seemed to have a voice, tired and weary, clothed with centuries of death.

Death.

As hard as he’d tried to keep it out, the memory slipped in.

He forced himself closer to the hole, knowing what he would find. His knees dropped from under him and he sank to the ground, staring at the locks of blonde hair and bleached bones against the dark soil.