The Lost Chalice (The Relic Seekers Book 3)

by Anita Clenney

  “The room with the three tombs,” he said. “That should be safe. Are you ready?”

  Kendall closed her eyes and thought about the black marble tombs. Probably King Arthur’s and Guinevere’s. And the third tomb . . . maybe Merlin—if he existed—or another knight? Jake appeared in her head as clearly as if he sat in front of her, but his eyes were closed, his skin pale. Kendall gasped, and Nathan’s eyes opened.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I saw Jake. He looked like he was dead.”

  “I’m sure he’s fine. You know Jake can take care of himself.”

  “I don’t think this is working.” She let go of Nathan’s hands. He stood and then helped her to her feet. “We have to get out of here.”

  “Come on,” Nathan said. “Let’s look again.”

  “Where? We searched the walls.”

  “We didn’t check the floor.”

  This was Adam, leading the way, being strong for her. She nodded and followed him, holding on to Jake’s cross. She couldn’t lose him either. They searched the floor until Kendall’s knees ached from kneeling. Why couldn’t she just sense the way out? Her gift had let her down again.

  “I’ve got something.”

  Kendall hurried over to see what Nathan had found. It was a stone along the edge of the floor that looked different from the rest. Thicker. After some examination, Nathan did something, and a small section of the wall started to move.

  “I think I found the catch.” Nathan put his arm in front of Kendall. “Stand back. We don’t know what—or who—is on the other side.” When the section of wall ground to a halt, they saw a metal door with a heavy lock. “I don’t think this is a way out. Looks more like an entrance to another room. And I’d say it’s to something they don’t want found.”

  “Maybe there’s an exit on the other side. Can you get it open?”

  “I don’t know about this lock.”

  “Forget the lock. Knock it down.”

  Nathan gave an astonished glance. “That’s a metal door!”

  “You can . . . you know . . .”

  “You want me to change?”

  “Yes. If it’ll get us out of here.”

  “I’m not a Transformer,” Nathan said.

  “I’m surprised you know what Transformers are.”

  “I go to movies. Sometimes. I went to see the last Transformer movie the day it came out.”

  “So did I.”

  “I know. I was there in the back of the theater.”

  “You followed me?”

  “No, but I was afraid you would think I had.” He smiled. “I wanted to ask you to go.”

  “Why didn’t you?” She would have gone with him.

  “I couldn’t.” He shrugged. “I thought I had a curse.”

  What would have happened if he hadn’t held back his feelings? Would their relationship have been different? Where would that have left her and Jake? “You’re different than I thought.”

  “How?”

  “You . . .” She hesitated to tell him he wasn’t as uptight. “You have a tattoo.”

  Nathan gave her a sideways glance. “You don’t like tattoos?”

  “I don’t mind them. I just didn’t expect to find one on you.” Her cheeks warmed. That had sounded way too intimate and reminded her how good he looked without a shirt. “I would have expected a tattoo on Jake. Not you.”

  Nathan’s expression tightened. “Does he have tattoos?”

  “No. Kind of surprising—” She stopped when she saw Nathan’s expression, alive with emotion. She had as good as admitted that she’d seen every part of Jake, and she had, but she didn’t want Nathan to think about that. She didn’t want to hurt him.

  Nathan turned toward the door, his shoulders stiff. “If you want me to get this opened, you’d better stand back. Way back.”

  Kendall went to the other side of the room and waited. Nathan just stood there. “What are you doing?”

  “This isn’t easy. It’s like trying to go to the loo when someone’s watching.”

  “I’ll turn my back if it helps. Or I could offer to hit you, since Jake’s not here.” She said it to lighten the tension, but realized it was a poor choice. Please be all right, Jake.

  Nathan’s muscles began to tense. Kendall watched as his body started to change. It was still him, but there was a difference in his stature. He turned and looked back at her, dark eyes lightening to hazel, and then fading to amber. In seconds, the color started to glow, increasing until his eyes looked like flames. It was one of the most amazing things she’d ever witnessed. When he’d fully changed, he grabbed hold of the lock and, with a roar, yanked it out. She didn’t go to him yet, letting him change back first. No use tempting fate. But his eyes were still amber when he turned to look at her. He was so beautiful, her Adam. She walked toward him and reached for his hand. “You did it.”

  “You shouldn’t come near me when I’m like this,” he said, his eyes still amber.

  “I trust you.”

  He didn’t respond, but a muscle in his jaw twitched. “Let’s get out of here.” He threw the broken lock on the floor and pushed the metal door. It creaked open and he pointed his light inside. “Bloody hell.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  WHEN JAKE AND Raphael finally landed in Italy, it was none too soon. If Jake had had a parachute, he would have jumped out of the plane.

  “I don’t snore,” Raphael said.

  “Then you’re farting out your mouth.”

  Raphael looked like he might break Jake in half. Jake figured the guardian could do it too, but he felt so shitty he didn’t much care. “You’re too big to fly coach.”

  “I’m not used to traveling on planes. And flying with you isn’t fun either,” Raphael said. “You talk in your sleep.”

  Jake didn’t like the look on Raphael’s face. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What’d I say?”

  “I’ll tell you later. I’m not sure what to make of it yet.”

  What the hell did that mean?

  They hired a taxi to take them to the castle. Jake fell asleep and woke up shoulder to shoulder with Raphael. Jake jumped, and the guardian jolted awake and sat up straight. He looked as tired as Jake felt. “How do you feel?” Jake asked.

  “Like I’ve been electrocuted.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “We’ll need to drink as soon as we arrive.”

  Or what, Jake wondered. Die a slow agonizing death. Damned Protettori.

  The taxi dropped them off at the road leading to the castle. The entrance was gated with a large stone fence surrounding the castle grounds to deter people from trespassing. And if they made it past the fence, the statues would stop them, in a gruesome and lethal manner. The statues had been turned off before Nathan’s crew arrived so that no one accidentally got electrocuted.

  Jake and Kendall hadn’t known about the road or the statues when they’d first found the place. They’d hiked through rugged terrain intended to keep visitors out, not knowing the stone sentinels waited to kill anyone who tried to pass. Lucky for them, the statues had been turned off briefly. If not, he and Kendall would both be toast. It was harsh, but the Protettori didn’t like company . . . for good reason.

  The castle had lots of company now. Two guards were at the gate, clad in the traditional black uniforms that all Nathan’s guards wore. They recognized Jake and Raphael, but still the guards’ hands slightly tightened on their weapons. They were nervous around Raphael. Those who hadn’t witnessed his inhuman escape from Nathan’s mansion had heard stories from the guards who had been there.

  One of them politely asked Raphael to enter the code that opened the gate—a surprisingly modern security system considering that ancient statues guarded the rest of the place. “Sorry,” the guard said
after Jake had stepped through. “Mr. Larraby said we can’t be too careful.”

  “No problem,” Jake replied, but Raphael only scowled. Jake lowered his voice so that only the guardian could hear. “They’re helping, you know.” He didn’t blame Raphael for being pissed that the place was crawling with strangers after he and Marco had lived here in solitude for so long. The Protettori didn’t like strangers. They passed several guards as they approached the castle. Jake asked a couple of them if they’d heard from Nathan, and got a negative.

  After checking in with Hank, the head of security, and getting confirmation that he hadn’t heard from Nathan either, Jake brought him up to date. Hank agreed to send a group back to England to check the area again and to stay there in case Kendall and Nathan showed up.

  “Have you seen Marco?” Jake asked.

  “Not since he and Fergus got back,” Hank said. “Check the library. Marco spends a lot of time there.”

  They hurried toward the library and met Fergus on the way. He was dressed in his butler uniform, a charcoal suit and white shirt, but he looked more like a frightened father. “Any word from Kendall and Nathan?”

  Jake shook his head.

  “Where can they be? I’m terribly worried for them. Do you think the Reaper is involved?”

  “I don’t know. But we’ll find them,” Jake said with far more confidence than he felt.

  “Where’s Marco?” Raphael asked with a frown.

  Fergus’s shoulders stiffened with resolve. “Don’t be angry at him. Marco put you to sleep for your own good. You needed rest to recover from your injuries, as did Jake.”

  “Who left the sticky note on my forehead?” Jake asked.

  “That would be me. I wanted to make sure you knew where we were right away so you didn’t think we were missing as well.”

  “If you see Marco, tell him to find me,” Raphael said.

  Fergus nodded and then hurried off, saying there was a problem in the kitchen. The butler seemed to have already taken charge.

  Raphael led Jake to the room with the mural on the wall and the round table. Several days ago he, Kendall, and Nathan had found the room. “This is where we keep the water.” There were priceless objects all over the space.

  “What happened to the treasure under the chapel?” Jake asked. “How did you move it so quickly?”

  “That’s a secret.”

  “You have more secrets than Nathan. Sure you’re not brothers?”

  “Positive.” Raphael opened a cabinet and took out two vials. He handed one to Jake. “Drink it slowly. It’s very powerful.”

  Jake knew it was. It had kept him from dying. Twice. He held up his vial. “To health.”

  Raphael nodded. “To health. And destroying the Reaper.”

  And finding Kendall and Nathan.

  This water tasted different than ordinary water. It had a slight metallic taste, but there was something else. Kendall must be rubbing off on him, because he thought he felt a tingle as the water slid down his throat. He lowered the vial and concentrated on his body. He knew the water had kept him alive before, but now that he wasn’t in a life-and-death situation, he wanted to see if he could feel the water working. He didn’t understand it. The Fountain of Youth should be a myth, a story to tell to kids, a pipe dream for adventurers, but it was real.

  “I think that will do,” Raphael said. “How do you feel?”

  “Better. How does it work?”

  Raphael’s eyes were closed and when they opened, the amber color seemed alive. “I don’t know.”

  “Does anyone know anything about how this stuff works?” Jake motioned to the vial and the room where they stood. “Everything’s shrouded in mystery.”

  “True power is difficult to explain.”

  “You sound like the Dalai Lama.”

  Raphael closed his eyes again and stood still. He didn’t move for so long Jake started to worry. “You’re not turning into a statue or something, are you?”

  “Prague.”

  “What?”

  “Prague. I think that’s where I followed the Reaper.”

  “You’re certain?”

  “No.”

  Someone pounded on the door. Raphael hurried to open it. His movements were quicker than they had been before, so the water must be working. It was one of the guards. “Hank needs you. There’s some kind of alarm going off. We don’t know what it means.”

  “The circle room,” Raphael said. He left the room at a run. Jake and the guard followed. Jake already felt stronger than he had moments before, and he was surprised that he caught up with Raphael in the corridor.

  “You think the Reaper made another portal?”

  “Who else could it be?” Raphael said grimly.

  Kendall crowded in behind Nathan, gaping at the room. As with the previous space, lighted candelabras had come on when they’d entered, illuminating a large room with marble floors and elaborate enclosed cases and shelves filled with relics and objects from all over the world. She knew they were old from the scents and memories emanating from them. There were ancient scrolls, daggers, swords, Egyptian artifacts . . . They explored for a few minutes, and then started looking for a way out.

  Nathan found a door hidden behind a large tapestry. It wasn’t locked. A small light flared to life as they stepped through into another room. There they saw a few large objects—tablets with writing, a giant round stone that looked like a disk, and a sarcophagus with elaborate carvings.

  “Look at these hieroglyphs.” Kendall touched the cool surface of the coffin and saw quick flashes of a pyramid and chariots. She grabbed Adam’s arm—Nathan’s arm. He was Nathan now, but his expression as he studied the objects was Adam’s. “This could have belonged to a pharaoh,” Kendall said. “I would love to open it.”

  “Me too, but I would rather find a way out of here. These relics are a bad sign. Who do we know that loves relics?”

  “The Reaper. You think we fell through his portal?”

  “We know he had one in the temple. We saw him disappear through it,” Nathan said.

  “We could be anywhere in the world.” Kendall’s chest felt hollow. What would he do if he found her? She’d tricked him into drinking from the wrong chalice. Her hand magic might not work this time. And what would he do to Nathan? “If he’s here, maybe we can stop him.”

  “No. We’ll sneak out, figure out where we are, and then come back with help.”

  “But Raphael’s injured. We don’t know how long it will take him to recover, even if we get the water to him. If the Reaper is injured—”

  “You’re not fighting him.” Nathan’s voice was hard.

  “You sound like Jake.”

  “I wish Jake was here. Maybe he could talk some sense into you. We’re going to sneak out of here before anyone realizes we’re trespassing.”

  The word chilled Kendall’s blood. Trespassing had gotten her and Adam in trouble a long time ago. She looked for the door they had just entered, but it had vanished. There was a wall in its place.

  “Bloody hell. It was right here.”

  “It’s probably hidden by another wall,” Kendall said. “We must have triggered it to close when we came in. Maybe there’s a catch on the floor like there was in the other room.”

  There was a commotion and voices coming from the wall opposite where they had entered the room. “I think someone’s coming. We’d better find someplace to hide,” Nathan ordered.

  Kendall looked around, quickly trying to find a place. “Where?” The rocks were flush against the wall and too heavy to move.

  Nathan grabbed her arm and hurried her toward the sarcophagus.

  “We’re not.” Not that she didn’t want to look inside. She did. But she didn’t want to hide there. Even if it were empty. The last time she’d hidden inside a sarcophagus hadn’t
been fun.

  “We did it before.”

  “You remember that?” Their fathers had told them to stay away from the dig, but they had sneaked out and hired a driver to take them there. They’d almost gotten caught and the sarcophagus had been the only place to hide. Like now.

  Nathan opened it. “There’s a person inside,” Kendall said. It was a lovely specimen, thick wrappings darkened with age. She studied the face, the hollows where the eyes had been, the ridges of eyebrows and cheekbones, and what remained of the nose. It was surprising how much a nose shrunk in death. This man had been tall, if it was a man. The size and bone structure looked male. Though bones weren’t her expertise, she knew a bit about them. And mummies. She loved mummies and would have enjoyed studying this one, but she didn’t want to share the same space.

  “It’s not really a person,” Nathan said. “It’s been dead for a long time.”

  “He,” she said. She had touched the chest, unable to keep her hands away. “It’s a he.” But she tried to block everything else about him. The voices on the other side of the wall were louder now, and she couldn’t afford to get sucked into the mummy’s life.

  “For God’s sake.” Nathan grabbed the mummy by the arms and lifted him out.

  “Be careful. He’s fragile.”

  “So are you,” Nathan whispered, gently dragging the mummy behind the sarcophagus. “Get in.”

  Kendall climbed in first. It was musty with the smell of death. Ancient death. The odor was almost soothing in its familiarity, and made her think of her father, how his face lit with excitement over a new discovery. But it wasn’t her father she was hiding from this time.

  Nathan climbed in with his back toward her. It was a small space. Her face was crushed against his shoulder, and her breasts pressed into his back. She was glad it was him she was sharing the sarcophagus with and not the mummy. She tried to focus on Nathan’s scent to calm her breathing, and as he pulled the cover closed, leaving them in darkness, it was his life that flashed before her eyes, and she had no doubts left about who he really was.

  “They’ve found something,” Adam said as they watched the men hurrying toward the tomb her father had discovered, talking in excited but hushed voices. “Do you know what it is?”