Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers)

by Clenney, Anita

  “Stop calling it a damned dungeon,” Nathan said. “I didn’t have a choice. I need answers. Raphael has them.”

  “You want to know why he’s not dead. I’d like to know myself, because he was dead as sure as I’m alive.”

  “I took him because we need the relics. Raphael must know where they are. Marco’s memory isn’t reliable.”

  “You need the relics. What you haven’t explained is why you’re so desperate to find them. And it’s not to add to your collection, or even to protect them from the Reaper. You want them for another reason.” Jake grabbed his shoulder. “What’d you do that for?”

  “Do what?”

  “You poked my shoulder.”

  “Not me,” Nathan said. “Must have been a rock falling or bat droppings.”

  “What does a billionaire know about bat shit?” Jake asked.

  “I could write a book on the stuff.” Nathan grew quiet, as if his words had surprised him. They walked for a few minutes without talking. “What was that?” Nathan asked, sounding irritated.

  “What was what?”

  “You hit me.”

  “Wasn’t me,” Jake said. “If I had hit you, you wouldn’t be standing.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Bat shit? Speaking of hitting, what were you and Fergus fighting about at the mansion?”

  “What do you mean?” Nathan asked.

  “Fergus looked like he wanted to hit you when Kendall and I got there.”

  “He was afraid I was trying to wake Marco. You’d think Marco was his father. They’re both acting weird.”

  “Marco must be rubbing off on him,” Jake said.

  “They’re up to something. They’re always whispering like they’re conspiring. It’s starting to piss me off.”

  “Sucks to be out of the loop, doesn’t it?” Jake said.

  “Shut up and look for Kendall. She could have fallen down this hole too.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time.” The farther they went in the cave, the more tired Jake felt, and more anxious. “I don’t like this cave.”

  Nathan flashed his light behind them and into the encroaching darkness. “You get the feeling we’re not alone?”

  He hadn’t wanted to mention it, thinking it might be his foggy brain. “Yeah. I was hoping it was your lousy company. Probably trolls or giants with one eye.” The Fountain of Youth wasn’t looking as farfetched now.

  “I hear something,” Nathan said.

  Jake listened, and then he heard a faint humming sound. “That’s what the statues sound like. We must be under them.”

  Nathan touched his head. “Hell, I feel like shit. Maybe it’s the statues. You walked past them. Did they make you feel strange?”

  “Yes, but not like this. I feel like I could sleep standing up. It almost feels like there’s not enough oxygen.” Maybe that explained the prickle crawling up Jake’s back. But he didn’t think so.

  Nathan stopped, head tilted. Shadows from the flashlight made him look frightening. He sniffed the air. “I smell blood.”

  “Blood?” Jake’s heart thudded.

  “It’s Kendall.”

  Jake was thinking about what Raphael might do when he found Kendall, when they heard the scream. Jake saw the change happen. Nathan’s body jerked as if he’d been hit in the stomach. When he straightened, he looked bigger. Jake didn’t need to see Nathan’s eyes to know they had changed to amber. Nathan took off running with Jake on his heels.

  Jake knew from experience that he couldn’t keep up, but that didn’t stop him from trying. In seconds, Nathan moved ahead. Jake was starting to believe Kendall might be right about otherworldly creatures. Whatever was happening to Nathan didn’t feel like an experiment in a lab. Jake’s flashlight showed something pale against the blackness of the cave. Clothing. Blond hair. Kendall!

  A black shadow hovered over her. It appeared shapeless, just a black mass, but when they got closer, it vanished. Nathan reached her first. When Jake got there, Nathan was checking her pulse.

  “She’s alive, but unconscious.”

  Jake knelt beside him. “What the hell was that shadow?”

  “I don’t know, but we have to get her out of here. Kendall, can you hear me?”

  “I’ll carry her,” Jake said.

  “I’ll do it. I’m stronger.”

  “Only in Hulk mode. I’ll take her first. You watch out for whatever that black thing was. I have a feeling your talents might be more suited for fighting it.”

  Jake picked Kendall up in his arms. Her head fell against his chest. “We’ll have to keep going ahead.” Jake carried her while Nathan kept watch. He was feeling so weak, he was about to see if Nathan wanted to switch, when Kendall roused in his arms. “She’s waking up.” He stopped and sat down, cradling her on his lap. Nathan bent down in front of them and brushed back her hair.

  Kendall woke up with a yell and punched Nathan in the stomach. He grunted and Kendall leapt to her feet. Jake jumped up and grabbed her. “Kendall, it’s us. Jake and Nathan.”

  “Jake? Nathan?” She glanced at Nathan, hunched over, trying to get his breath. “Oh my God.” She hurried back to him. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were… What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you?” Jake said, since Nathan was still wheezing.

  Nathan rubbed his stomach. “Bloody hell. You hit hard.”

  “I’m so sorry. There was something hovering over me.”

  “We saw it. It vanished when we got close. One of your ghosts?” Jake asked.

  “I think it was something else.”

  “What?” Jake asked. “Fairies, dragons?”

  “I don’t know, but it was powerful.”

  “Did it hurt you?” Nathan asked. His eyes flared but didn’t start glowing.

  “I don’t think so. I blacked out, so I’m not sure. My head feels strange.” Like a sponge that had been squeezed dry.

  “You’re bleeding,” Nathan said, shining his light on her wrist.

  “I am?” She looked down at her arm and saw a small gash. “I must have cut it when I fell.” She didn’t recall hitting her arm, but she remembered it stinging.

  “It’s not deep,” Nathan said, examining it. “Just a scratch.” The warmth of his hand on her arm made her realize how cold she was.

  “Looks like it was cut with a knife,” Jake said, squatting beside her.

  Nathan nodded. They both gave her a thorough inspection, running their flashlights over her, inquiring about scrapes and even old scars she’d had since she was a kid, until she felt like she’d had a physical. She kept glancing over her shoulder.

  “What’s that?” Nathan asked, frowning. Her pajamas had a small tear, revealing the ridge of an old scar on her thigh.

  She didn’t know how her pajamas had torn. It must have also happened when she fell. “I got that in Egypt when I was a kid. I fell into a tomb.”

  She’d been with Adam. Adam. Now she knew it was her fault he had died, her fault her father and Uncle John had died. Marco said breaching the sacred chamber could cause a curse of death. She was the one who had trespassed. Adam had tried to stop her, but she hadn’t listened. He had looked out for her for years, and she had repaid him with a curse.

  The events leading up to the childhood incident in the chapel were vivid, but the events afterward were vague. She recalled several men in robes whispering, their voices angry. Then another man leading them to a tunnel… to the railcars. They’d left the castle by the railcars. She remembered being sleepy. Even with all the excitement, it had been hard to stay awake. The events after they left the castle were even cloudier. Adam was there. She remembered him asking for his father, but he hadn’t returned from his trip. Her father had been nervous, afraid. That was all she remembered until she woke at Aunt Edna’s and was told that they were all dead.

  She realized Nathan was still staring at the scar, but he didn’t move his hand. “Egypt.” He seemed disturbed by the scar. Was that some kind of sign that he could be Adam? They’d
spent a lot of time in Egypt.

  “A little to the right and you’ll be at third base,” Jake said.

  Nathan jerked his hand back. “Her pajamas look like they’ve been cut as well.”

  Now wasn’t the time to solve the mystery about Adam. She needed to get out of here, or she was going to embarrass herself and collapse. “Did you find a way back to the maze?”

  Jake shook his head. “We couldn’t find any openings or hidden catches. We figured there must be another way out. We need to get moving in case that shadow thing comes back.”

  “Kendall looks pale,” Nathan said. “Maybe we should rest.”

  “We’re all pale,” Jake said. “It’s black as Hades in here.”

  “I’m fine,” Kendall said. “Let’s go.” She wasn’t fine, but there was something hostile about this place, as if it didn’t want them here. She was happy to oblige.

  “Yeah,” Jake said. “I don’t like the feel of this place.”

  Nathan and Jake each linked an arm through Kendall’s and they started walking, continuing to keep an eye out for that sinister shadow. Her mind felt a little less foggy as she moved away from the place where she had encountered it. “How did you find me?”

  “We followed you through the maze,” Jake said. “We must be underneath it. We gotta be getting close to the catacombs. I can hear the statues.”

  “I hope they don’t work underground,” Kendall said. “We don’t have the crosses.”

  Nathan let go of her arm and reached into his pocket. “Here.” He pulled something out and slipped it over her head. A cross.

  “Busted,” Jake said. “We found them in your room.”

  Kendall felt the comforting weight against her chest. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to take them without asking. I saw them in your study and picked them up. When I thought you were choking in your bedroom, I shoved them in my pocket and forgot about them.”

  Jake made a rumbling noise that could have been either a grunt or his stomach complaining.

  “It’s a good thing you brought them,” Nathan said. “I didn’t think about it.”

  “You were preoccupied with your guest,” Jake said.

  Guest? Kendall would have asked what he meant, but she was too focused on staying awake.

  It didn’t take long until Kendall was slowing down and Nathan and Jake were using more of their own strength to drag her. Her head had cleared some, but her body was still weak. “I’m sorry, but I have to stop. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  “We’ll carry you,” Jake said. “We can’t stop if that thing is in here.”

  They were tired too. Their steps had slowed. “It’s gone now,” she said. “I can feel that it’s not here.”

  “You’re sure?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes. It was probably just a ghost.”

  “Then let’s rest,” Jake said. “You’ve had a hell of a night, and I feel like shit.”

  Using her light, she chose the least dirty spot. “How about here?”

  “Dry, no bat droppings,” Nathan said. “Looks good to me.”

  “Turns out our rich boss has a lot of experience with bat shit,” Jake said. “Says he could write a book on it.”

  Nathan might wear suits and have loads of money, but he was no pansy. Still, she hadn’t pictured him crawling around places where there were bats, like Adam had. She sat down while Jake and Nathan inspected the area around them. “How long have you been searching for me?”

  “A couple of hours,” Nathan said.

  “Are you sure? I left the castle less than an hour ago.”

  “You must have blacked out longer than you thought,” Jake said.

  “It felt like just a few minutes,” Kendall said. “I went to the graveyard first, then the maze. What time is it?”

  Jake looked at his watch and frowned. “It’s not working.”

  Nathan held up his wrist. “Neither is mine. That’s bloody strange.”

  “Is there anything about this castle that isn’t?” Jake murmured.

  “Must be something to do with the statues,” Nathan added.

  But that didn’t happen before, Kendall thought with a sense of foreboding.

  “Did you sleep at all before you went chasing ghosts?” Jake asked.

  “Not much.” Kendall felt awkward thinking about what had happened before Jake left the tower room. If he hadn’t held back, none of them would be here now. She would probably be lying in bed with him instead of lost in a cave. She should have insisted. She was getting sick of secret caves and tunnels.

  Nathan started walking back the way they’d come.

  “Where you going?” Jake asked.

  “Bathroom.”

  “I miss the garderobe,” she said.

  “I miss food and water.” Jake squatted beside her and turned over her wrist. “We need to get this fixed. Don’t want it getting infected.” His touch was warm, and she thought again how close they’d come to making love. Was it always going to be this dance? One of them darting in, the other pulling back? Nathan was back in moments, distracting her train of thought.

  “Do you need to go?” Jake asked Kendall.

  Was he going to escort her? “No, I’m fine.”

  “My turn then,” he said.

  They were babysitting her. As she had so many times in the past week, she felt both grateful and irritated. If she weren’t so tired, she’d remind them that she’d probably had more experience in caves than both of them combined, but she was ready to drop from exhaustion. She wondered if the shadow hovering over her had done something to her mind. It was probably just a vision. Intense visions drained her. But even seeing her mother and father hadn’t made her feel this bad afterward. And Jake and Nathan were also tired. Was the cave itself draining their energy?

  “How’s your wrist?” Nathan asked as Jake walked away.

  “Stings a little.”

  He sat down beside her. “If we don’t find a way out in the morning, we’ll have to go back. There’s got to be a way out back there. We didn’t just appear here.”

  “Unless it was a booby trap with no exit designed to trap someone until they slowly died of thirst.”

  “Thus speaks a girl who’s spent her life exploring caves and tombs,” Nathan said. “We should save our batteries.”

  Nathan’s flashlight started flickering and he turned it off. “That’s not good.”

  Jake appeared a moment later and sat down on Kendall’s other side. “You trying to conserve batteries?”

  “Mine’s dying,” Nathan said. “The batteries were fresh.”

  “It’s this cave,” Kendall said. “There’s something strange about it. Maybe the statues are draining the batteries and us.”

  “We’d better turn ours off,” Jake said. “Who knows how long we’ll be in here.” He flipped his light off as a soft rumble sounded in the region of his stomach. “Don’t suppose anyone has a candy bar?” His voice sounded strange in the dark.

  “I wish,” Kendall said. She was getting hungry. And thirsty. “We need water. We might find a spring.”

  “We’ll check after we move on,” Jake said. “I don’t want to split up and search.”

  They didn’t want to leave her alone. “I think it’s safe now.”

  “We’re not taking any chances,” Jake said. “Even if it was just a ghost. Hell, a ghost killed Edward.”

  “That was my father.”

  Dead silence met her announcement. Then Jake blurted out a word that sounded even more obscene in the silence and darkness of the cave.

  “Your father was the ghost in the chapel?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes, but I don’t know if he’s a real ghost or just a… memory, a piece of the past replaying itself.”

  “I thought the ghost was the old guy in the catacombs who was guarding the Spear of Destiny, and he’d seen you at the castle when you were a kid,” Jake said.

  “No. It was my father. I sensed something familiar about him then, but I didn
’t see his face clearly until earlier tonight when he came into my room. I think that’s why I needed to be there in the chapel with you. So he would recognize me.”

  “And not kill us along with Edward,” Nathan said.

  Jake frowned. “How can a memory kill someone?”

  “I don’t know,” Kendall said. “How could a ghost kill someone? None of it seems logical.”

  “It figures that he’d be haunting that room if that’s where you were born,” Jake said.

  “And where my mother died. Given how much she was bleeding, she couldn’t have left the castle alive. There are two graves outside the graveyard. I think my mother is buried in one.”

  “Outside the graveyard?” Nathan said.

  “She probably wasn’t put in consecrated ground,” she said. “I’m sure she wasn’t supposed to be here.”

  “Makes me wonder who the second unconsecrated grave belongs to,” Jake said.

  “I think it’s mine.”

  The dark silence grew quieter. “Yours?” Nathan asked.

  “My father must have buried my mother there. Maybe he put up another stone to make the Protettori think the baby had died too. He would have been cast out if anyone found out. Maybe he tried to hide it.”

  “It must not have worked,” Jake said. “He wasn’t Protettori when you were growing up.”

  “Where is your father buried?” Nathan asked.

  “Aunt Edna put up a stone in his memory, but there wasn’t a body,” Kendall said. “The authorities told us there wouldn’t have been anything left from the crash but bones. They never found them. Wild animals, I suppose.”

  “Maybe the second grave is a memorial for your father,” Nathan said. “If he was part of the Protettori.”

  “Perhaps,” Kendall said.

  “Your father never mentioned the castle?” Nathan asked.

  “Never. It must have been a bad memory for him. When I saw the vision of the birth—my birth—it seemed as if my mother had hidden the pregnancy to protect my father until she got desperate.”

  “If he was Protettori, that makes sense,” Nathan said. “Who knows what they might have done to him, to all of you, to protect the order’s secret.”