Guardians of Stone (The Relic Seekers) (34 page)

“Nothing’s ever pure or simple. It’s always clouded with gray. It was unfortunate, I agree, but they had to be eliminated. I couldn’t leave loose threads.”

“But they were your family,” Kendall said. She felt Edward’s coldness and greed through the barrel pressed against her head. If he hadn’t disguised his eyes with those brown contacts perhaps she would have picked up something from him before. As she spoke, Jake slid forward so smoothly it was barely noticeable.

Edward patted a canvas bag he carried over his shoulder. “This is my family.” He smiled. “
My
destiny.”

“You were the one who broke into Brandi’s room and stole the box. What will you do with it?”

“Sell it to the highest bidder. There are many who would pay any price for such a relic and not care how it was obtained.”

“Like the Reaper?” Kendall asked.

“I don’t think I’ll be selling this to him.”

“You were supposed to find it for him,” Kendall said.

Edward moved back so the gun wasn’t touching her, but it was still inches from her temple. “You are good, aren’t you? I was skeptical when I first heard about your powers. I took the
precaution of wearing contacts when we met, but I must admit I’m impressed.”

“How did you know about my
powers
?”

“The Reaper takes a great interest in Nathan Larraby and the things that interest Nathan Larraby. An unhealthy fixation if you ask me.”

“Why is he interested in Nathan?” Kendall asked.

“That would be a question for him, not me. I was merely a guide.”

“Does the Reaper know you’ve betrayed him?”

“I expect he does by now, which means we need to hurry. If I could open the box without you, believe me, I would.”

“You could break it open,” Jake said.

“And risk damaging the spear?” Edward shook his head. “I don’t think so. And I’ve heard very frightening stories about what could happen if the box isn’t opened properly. That’s why I came to the chapel. Part of the reason. I don’t believe the spear was the only thing the Protettori were protecting. My ancestor said there were many treasures. He believed some were hidden in this very chapel. And what luck that Kendall met me here, the one person on earth who can sniff them out. I couldn’t have planned it better.”

More treasures? Here? “What if the spear isn’t real?” Kendall asked, continuing to stall. “A lot of people think they have the real Spear of Destiny.”

“Why would the Protettori protect it if it wasn’t real?” But Edward’s voice wasn’t as confident now. “It’s real, isn’t it? You touched it.”

“I didn’t get to touch it. It was stolen before I could. Would you like me to check it now?”

She felt him wavering, weighing the value of letting her tell him for certain if it was real against the danger of letting her that close. Then Edward shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if it’s real, as long as someone thinks it is.”

Jake was closer now, but still too far away to take out Edward or the gun. “Do you know the Reaper’s real name?” Kendall asked.

“No one does. Enough talking. Where is the key?”

Jake shook his head slightly, indicating that she shouldn’t tell him.

“We don’t have it,” Kendall said.

Edward moved quickly. He gripped her hair, yanked her head back, and shoved the gun against her temple again.

Jake had gone completely still, and she was afraid he would do something risky. “Nathan has it,” he said.

Edward glanced at the door. “Then we go see Nathan.”

“What about the other two keys?” Kendall asked.

Edward frowned. “What other keys?”

“It takes three to unlock the box.”

She felt Edward’s confidence slip again and saw Jake assessing the situation. He would know as well as she did that he couldn’t get to Kendall in time to keep Edward from firing. They needed a distraction.

It roared into the room, splintering the door off its hinges. Nathan glowered at Edward, his body taut, eyes glowing. Edward was shaken, but he had the gun pointed at Kendall’s head. No matter how fast the two men were, a bullet was faster.

“Either of you move a toe and I swear I’ll kill her.”

Nathan growled and a shiver ran up Kendall’s spine. Edward shivered too. Kendall felt it, even if he didn’t show it. “Give me the keys, all of them, or I’ll splatter her brains all over this chapel.”

Both men stood as still as the statues outside, eyes locked on Edward.

“Stop,” she said. “My cross is around my neck. Jake, give him yours.” Once he had the keys, he would be distracted. They might be able to take him.

Keeping the gun close to her head, Edward removed her cross. Jake pulled Raphael’s from his pocket and slid it across the floor.

“Where’s the third one?” Edward asked.

“I have it,” Nathan said. “Marco gave it to me.” He took it out of his pocket and slid it across the floor next to Jake’s.

“Pick them up,” Edward told Kendall.

She bent and picked up the two crosses. Edward took them from her and eased away, keeping the gun pointed at her. “Now you two, into the corner, and don’t try to stop me. I don’t want to kill her since she’s my treasure map. But I will.”

Nathan and Jake moved to the corner of the chapel. Kendall could feel their tension from across the room.

Edward put the canvas bag down. Opening it with one hand, he removed the box. Kendall leaned closer, trying to see. It looked like the one she and Jake had found; the one in Nathan’s sketch. But what the sketch hadn’t shown were three locks on top, hidden in three of the four circles that were etched into the corners.

Edward checked their positions and then he inserted one key. There was a click. He inserted another and there was another click. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned them again.

Kendall could have told him he was the one doing something stupid. That box shouldn’t be opened.

He put the third key in. There was another click and the four circles on the box began to move. Edward’s focus wavered and Kendall lunged. She grabbed for the box, and at the same time Nathan and Jake rushed to help. There was a scramble, bodies rolling on the floor, and the red dot bounced around the chapel like a laser beam. Edward grabbed the box to his chest, and then his eyes widened. A look of terror crossed his face. Kendall’s hair stood on end and she couldn’t help but turn. Jake and Nathan had done the same.

The ghost monk stood there, his face covered by the cowl, the chapel wall visible through him. Edward gasped, and the ghost moved toward them.

Kendall jumped up. “Get out of the way,” she yelled at Nathan and Jake. They were all standing between Edward and the ghost. All three of them hurried toward the door, watching as the monk moved closer to Edward, who was cowering on the floor. He threw the box toward Kendall, probably hoping the ghost would follow. He didn’t. He continued toward Edward and didn’t stop, passing all the way through him. Edward gave a terrified scream and fell.

The monk turned and looked at the box lying open on the floor at Kendall’s feet. The tip of a spear could be seen wrapped in a white cloth. Perhaps it was a dagger or a sword, but after what she’d witnessed, she believed it was the real spear that the Roman centurion had used to pierce Christ’s side.

The monk started toward them. Nathan and Jake each moved in front of Kendall. She stepped around them and bent to pick up the box.

“What are you doing?” Jake hissed.

“Don’t move,” she said. She slid the spearhead back inside the box, covering it with the cloth and turned each key. Three clicks and the lid closed. She started walking toward the monk.

Jake and Nathan came after her, but the monk raised his hands and both men were thrown backward and pinned against the wall. They struggled, but they couldn’t break free.

“Stop,” Nathan yelled as Kendall kept walking. “Don’t hurt her. Take me.”

“Dammit. Come back here,” Jake yelled, struggling.

The monk watched as she approached. His face was still shadowed, but she could see his eyes. Green, she thought, and wise, reminding her of her father’s. The man this ghost had once been had suffered betrayal and heartbreak. Kendall stretched out her arms, offering him the spear. He continued to watch her until
her arms started to hurt from the weight of the box. Then he held out his hands and she felt a rush of air as they brushed over hers. For one second, flesh and apparition were joined as they held the box. He nodded once and disappeared.

She stood for a second, shocked, the box still in her arms. She turned and saw Jake and Nathan fall free from the wall. Both men rushed to her side.

“Believe me now?” she said to Jake, and then she collapsed.

A
RUMBLING NOISE
woke her and she opened her eyes to two anxious faces hovering over her, wearing matching frowns. “She’s coming out of it,” Jake said.

Nathan nudged him. “Move back so she can breathe.”

“You’re the one suffocating her,” Jake said.

The past minutes—hours?—came rushing back. The box? Edward? The ghost?

Jake and Nathan moved back as she sat up, and she saw that she was lying on the altar. “Oh my God.” She jumped up and moved quickly away.

“What’s wrong?” Jake asked.

“The altar...” She looked at the three stones and the words engraved there. She remembered a hushed voice repeating strange words as light exploded from the stones, enveloping her and Adam. “Where’s Edward?”

“Dead,” Jake said.

“What about the box?”

“It’s safe,” Nathan said, pointing to Kendall’s backpack nearby.

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Keep it safe,” he said, not meeting her eyes.

“Where? Not with the rest of your collection, I hope.”

“No. I’ll put it somewhere no one will find it.”

Jake glanced at Edward’s body. “So, according to your vision, Nathan and I would have died at the hands of a ghost if you hadn’t been here.”

“I think the ghost would have killed you inadvertently to get to Edward. Killed all of us if we hadn’t moved. All he was worried about was protecting the box.”

“Is that why you thought you needed to be here?” Jake asked. “To warn us to move out of the way? Hell, you could’ve done that from Virginia.”

“If she hadn’t been here, I think he would have killed anyone who happened to be in the chapel,” Nathan said.

“Maybe he knew she wanted to protect the spear,” Jake said.

Nathan shook his head. “It’s almost as if he recognized her.”

“I think he did,” Kendall said. “And the strange thing is that I felt like I knew him too.” That sometimes happened with her visions.

“Our ghost could have seen you here when you were a kid,” Jake said. “It’s not like there were many females around.”

“He saw me in the tower room where the woman gave birth. I think he loved her. Maybe I reminded him of her. At least now you believe I saw the ghost,” she said to Jake.

“I’ve seen a lot of unbelievable things tonight,” Jake said, giving Nathan a pointed look. “Not just ghosts.”

“That was just adrenaline,” Nathan said.

“Adrenaline doesn’t make a person’s eyes glow.”

“Must have been your imagination or a reflection from your flashlight,” Nathan said.

“Flashlight, my ass. You sure you don’t have a secret lab where you’re creating a drug that gives super powers?”

Nathan didn’t answer. Clearly he either didn’t know what was happening or wasn’t ready to share his secrets. Kendall didn’t buy his explanation any more than Jake did, but she had an open mind, and after the things she’d seen at this castle, it was even more open.

“How long was I out?” Kendall asked. “Has anyone checked on Marco?”

“You weren’t out long. Fifteen minutes. The helicopter just took them.”

That was the rumbling she’d heard. “Is he alive?”

“For now,” Nathan said. “He doesn’t look good. Fergus is with him.”

“He took that bullet to save me. Did he say anything before he left?” She wanted to ask if he’d mentioned seeing ghosts. Particularly one named Adam.

“He was unconscious,” Nathan said.

“What about Brandi? Where did she go?”

“Disappeared,” Nathan said, looking at the stones behind the altar again.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her,” Jake said.

Kendall suspected that he hoped for another encounter so he could find out more about Thomas’s connection with his assignment in Iraq.

“She has her brother’s death to avenge,” Jake continued. “And I’m sure she blames the Reaper. If she wants him, she’ll have to get in line.”

“You’re not to go after him,” Nathan said. “He’s too dangerous. I’ll handle it.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. Time to change the subject, Kendall thought. “What are we going to do with Edward’s body? We can’t leave it here.”

The body was still on the floor, but its face had been covered by a cloth that looked remarkably like a scarf Kendall had in her bag. She hoped it was still in her bag.

“I’ll have the body removed,” Nathan said. He walked toward the stones.

“What are you doing?” It made her cringe to see him so close to the altar. She wasn’t really superstitious, but those stones elicited sensations that she couldn’t explain.