Guardians of Stone (The Relic Seekers)

by Clenney, Anita

  He started to remind her about the note, but if she wanted to play GI Jane, best let her get it out of her system now before things got more dangerous. They followed a thick grove of trees to a set of rough steps cut into the hillside. Watching her climb, he had to admit she was as sure-footed as a goat.

  “Where’d you grow up?”

  She looked back at him, her face glowing, not even out of breath. Impressive.

  “I was born outside Washington, DC, but we traveled all over the world. Wherever there were relics to be found.”

  “You’ve been doing this since you were a kid?”

  She nodded and scrambled over a pile of rocks that would’ve turned an ankle of a less agile woman. “My father spent his life searching for relics. My earliest memories are of pyramids and tombs.”

  “He was an archaeologist?”

  She nodded. “It was his passion.”

  “Was?”

  “He’s dead.” She hurried on, forcing him to follow.

  “Did he have your...gift?”

  She gave him an irritated look that said she thought he was being sarcastic. When she saw he wasn’t, she nodded.

  Must be genetic. Would she pass it on to her kids? Jake’s mind immediately went to the possibilities a gift like that would bring. If it were real, that is. He still wasn’t convinced that it was. It wouldn’t just be the US government looking for her. What about other governments? Criminals? Terrorists? Someone with that kind of power would be invaluable.

  The terrain became more rugged as they walked. He spotted entrances to several caves along the way. He was about to tell her they needed to turn back when he felt a prickle move up his spine. He noticed Kendall had slowed as well.

  He did a quick check and at first didn’t see anything. Then he spotted a man standing two hundred yards away, hidden in the trees. It was hard to tell his size. He was stooped, his body and face obscured by loose cotton clothes, and he held a walking stick in his hand.

  “Don’t hit me,” Jake warned, a second before he pulled Kendall into his arms. She grunted with surprise and dropped the open bottle of water she held. Jake’s lips touched the soft spot beside hers. From a distance it would pass for a kiss. “We’re being watched.”

  She stiffened. “Where?”

  “He’s under the trees. Relax. Put your arms around me.”

  She put her hands on his waist. “What’s he doing?” she asked, her breath warm on his face.

  His mind and body were on guard, but he was still aware of how good she felt pressed against him. He lifted his head a couple of inches and checked again. “He’s still there,” he whispered against her cheek. “When I step back, slowly start walking.” He stepped away from her but kept his eye on the man.

  “He looks like a goat herder,” Kendall said, picking up the bottle she’d spilled and putting it in her bag.

  The man didn’t approach but started waving his arms and yelling.

  “I don’t think that’s a greeting, but we’ll pretend it is.” Jake waved a hand and they kept walking.

  “I think he’s warning us to go back,” Kendall said.

  “Not a bad idea. We can come back tomorrow when we have more daylight.”

  The man yelled a minute longer. Then he turned and disappeared into the trees.

  “What was he saying?” Kendall asked.

  “He said pericolo. That means danger, and I think he yelled something about a curse.” Jake didn’t believe in curses any more than he believed in psychics, although he wasn’t sure where Kendall fit into that philosophy. He believed in strength, wits, and common sense. And a good supply of weapons. But he knew evil existed. He’d seen its work. A memory tried to intrude, but he stopped it before it got to the grave.

  Kendall watched the spot where the man had vanished. “That was weird.” She sounded intrigued, not alarmed. If she had searched for relics all her life, she wouldn’t be intimidated by a goat herder warning about curses and danger. That didn’t bode well for him, since his job was to keep her safe. He looked at the sun sinking in the sky. “We need to go back. Edward said the trail may be dangerous. It’s already been a hard hike. We don’t want to get caught here after dark.”

  “Just a little farther. I can feel it.”

  They continued, following Kendall’s mysterious internal compass as the sun sank lower in the sky. It was time to leave. He could come back later, without her. Before he could turn her around, they came to a narrow ravine.

  “Someone doesn’t want company,” she said.

  “You just now figuring that out?”

  She walked to the edge and looked at the opposite side of the canyon. “We’ll have to find another way across. Did you bring climbing equipment?”

  “No.” He had some rope, but he had no intention of letting her climb down. If she broke her neck, he would be the one to pay. “If we go back now and get equipment and supplies, we can come back tomorrow when we have more daylight. We’re not prepared for an overnight trip. We’re almost out of water.”

  “Look,” Kendall said, pointing. “There’s a bridge.”

  He’d already spotted it but hoped she hadn’t. “We don’t know what condition it’s in. It might not be safe.”

  She moved cautiously along the edge of the ravine. He followed, grumbling with each step. If he had known she’d grown up climbing pyramids and excavating tombs, he never would’ve agreed to protect her. Not that he’d really had a choice in accepting the assignment. As usual, Nathan held all the cards.

  Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her back as she approached the bridge. It was about fifty feet across and the same distance in height. Below, sharp rocks waited to rip skin and crush bones. “The bridge could be booby-trapped. If it breaks, you’re dead.”

  “I’m not going to cross without testing it. I’m not stupid. I grew up around this kind of stuff. Egyptians were creative when it came to protecting their dead.” She knelt and examined the bridge, pulling on the sides. Then she tested the first plank with her foot. “It seems steady enough. But only one of us should cross at a time.”

  “Are you that desperate to find the box?”

  She did that staring off into space thing, as if she could see a message in the trees. “Yes. We have to find it before he does.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Did you see someone?”

  “No.”

  “Do you ever get anything definite?” He raked his hand through his hair in frustration.

  “Mostly bits and pieces, like a big puzzle.” She dug in her bag and pulled out a coil of rope.

  Damn. She’d brought her own.

  She looped it expertly around her waist and tossed him the end. “Secure this.”

  He caught the rope and held it in his hand. “We don’t have enough time—”

  “I’m going with or without you.”

  Damned female. “Wait, I’ll go first.” He tied the rope around a sturdy tree, but before he could approach the bridge, she started across. If he could’ve reached her, he would have strangled her, but she was already several planks in and he couldn’t risk adding his weight to hers. “Watch out for loose or rotten boards.” If she fell, the rope would only do so much good.

  Jake’s heart thudded in rhythm with the swaying bridge as Kendall moved across. She was nimble, he gave her that. Her body was perfectly balanced as she tested each board. Still, his hands didn’t unclench until she reached the other side.

  She dropped her backpack and untied the rope around her waist. “Your turn,” she called. She tied her end of the rope to a tree and waited for him to join her.

  He was glad she was safe, but part of him wished she’d found at least one rotten board to scare some sense into her. The rotten board was waiting for him, halfway across the bridge. He’d knotted the rope around his waist but was so busy fuming at Kendall that he didn’t notice the crack in the plank until it gave way and his foot smashed through. Kendall started back towa
rd him to help.

  “Stay there,” he said, barking out the command as he pulled his foot free. He made it the rest of the way without incident, but his pride was bruised. Hell, he’d crossed spans wider than that going hand over hand on a rope. And here he had to go and fall in front of her while he was crossing a damned bridge.

  “Are you OK?” she asked, making matters worse.

  He scooped up her backpack and hooked it over one shoulder.

  “What are you doing?”

  He bent and threw her over the other shoulder like a sack of dog food. “I’m taking you back.”

  “Put me down,” she yelled, pounding her fists against his back.

  “It’s my job to protect you. I’m not letting you get us both killed.”

  She bit him on the shoulder. He cursed and dumped her on her feet. Not just because the bite hurt like hell, but also because his burst of temper had cooled enough for him to realize he couldn’t put their combined weight on the bridge.

  She swatted her hair out of her face, looking like a volcano might spurt out her ears.

  “This is why I didn’t want you coming on this assignment with me,” he said through clenched teeth. “Do you have any idea what Nathan will do to me if you get hurt?”

  Her eyes glinted like jade daggers. “I’m not an idiot. Did you even bother to look under the bridge?”

  No, he didn’t. He’d been too busy trying to keep her off it.

  “It has steel supports and that rope is weatherproof.” Her fists dug into her hips. “And the planks are in good condition.”

  He threw her backpack on the ground. “Not all of them.” His ankle still hurt from the one he’d stepped through.

  “Go back if you want, but that box is close. I can feel it.” She snatched her backpack and took off.

  He had no choice but to follow. He had to keep her alive, but by God, this was the last time he’d play bodyguard. He moved alongside her when the path widened. “You know we need to go back. You’re just too damned stubborn to admit it.”

  She glanced at the setting sun and a worry line creased her forehead. “I know, but just a little farther. We’re so close.”

  “Ten more minutes, that’s it. I’m not risking our necks because of your feelings.”

  She kicked a weed out of her way and kept walking, but her shoulders didn’t have that feisty set anymore. “You sound like my dad. He was always warning me not to get distracted by my feelings.”

  Now she was comparing him to her father. Things kept getting better.

  “The path is getting easier now,” she said, changing the subject.

  That was usually when the sky fell, but he gritted his teeth and they kept moving. They walked for another few minutes. The trees grew thicker and the water he’d drunk pressed for an exit.

  “Wait here. I gotta take a leak before we head back. You might want to do the same.” They’d both drunk a lot of water.

  She looked longingly at a fat clump of bushes.

  “Mother Nature’s bathrooms. You go first. I’ll turn my back.”

  “I’m not going with you right here.”

  “I don’t want you out of my sight.”

  “I’m a big girl. I can go to the bathroom by myself.”

  Yeah, but they didn’t know what else was in these woods with them. “Don’t go far.”

  She went one way while he walked a few yards through the bushes in the opposite direction. He scanned what he could of the surroundings while he took care of business. The thick trees and sinking sun made it increasingly hard to see anything. He could barely see his own piss. It would take them over two hours to get back to the car. If they left now, they would have just enough time to get there before dark. A rumbling noise sounded close by, as if the earth were moving. Imagining hidden traps and pits with spikes, he rushed back.

  “Kendall?”

  She didn’t answer, so he started through the bushes after her. If he caught her with her pants down, next time she’d be quicker. She wasn’t there. Her tracks were clear where she’d stopped and squatted. There was a circle of saturated ground and tracks leading back to where they had separated. The tracks continued in the direction they’d been walking. A few branches had been snapped off. She’d come this way. Her tracks continued for several yards, stopping at a cliff covered in ivy. It had to be at least twelve feet high. Too high to jump. There were no tree limbs strong enough to climb. Where had she gone? He pulled the thick ivy aside and saw it was actually a stone wall.

  Then Jake noticed a second set of footprints a few feet away. A man’s. The goat herder maybe. But there was no indentation from his walking stick. Jake pulled out his gun and cautiously bent to study the tracks. Big feet, average height. These prints weren’t as fresh as Kendall’s. She wasn’t followed, but where was she? Both sets of tracks stopped near the same spot.

  Jake heard the rumbling sound again. He jumped to his feet and raised the gun. The curtain of vines moved and Kendall’s face appeared. “I found a door,” she said. Her grin changed to surprise when she saw the gun pointed at her chest.

  He lowered the gun. “You damned idiotic...” he sputtered, looking for words. “Are you insane? I had no idea where you were.” He shoved the gun into his jeans and glared at her.

  “Calm down. I saw the footsteps leading to the wall and thought they were yours.”

  “They’re not mine.”

  “Oh.”

  She looked slightly alarmed, which was good. A little fear might help him keep her safe. He studied the opening in the wall, more intrigued than he wanted to admit. “How did you find the door?” One of her senses?

  “I saw this.” She pushed back the vines on a section of the wall. There was a mark etched in the stone. A circle. “I knew it must be there for a reason. The stone seemed loose. When I pushed it the door opened.”

  “You should have waited for me. What if it didn’t open again? You’re forgetting this place is supposed to be cursed.”

  “You believe in curses?”

  “I believe in traps.”

  “The bridge was safe. If the door didn’t open from this side, I would have climbed the vines.”

  And she probably could have, but that didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t following orders.

  “Maybe the footsteps belong to the goat herder,” she said. “He could be the one who’s been taking care of this place. You should see this side of the wall.”

  “Keep your voice down. Anyone who’s gone to these lengths to keep people away won’t be happy to find us here.”

  She moved aside so he could climb through the opening. Even though the trail behind them had a rugged beauty, this side of the wall was like entering heaven after escaping hell. The area was well tended. Plants and shrubbery grew along a small path. The trees formed a lacy canopy, allowing the setting sun through in soft streams. One large tree sat in the center, its leaves already golden with the chill of fall.

  “It doesn’t look cursed,” Kendall said. “It looks magical.”

  A little too magical. It was probably a trap. “It wasn’t magical getting here. I want to look around too, but we need to head back or we’ll be stuck on the trail after dark.”

  “My God.”

  He turned and saw Kendall staring at something in the distance. He moved closer and saw a tall statue a few hundred yards away.

  “I’ve seen this before,” Kendall said, her voice hushed with awe.

  The damned thing about it was he’d seen the statue too. Sketched on a piece of paper he’d found in a palace in Iraq. Then he noticed there were more statues, lined up as far as he could see. He looked at the first one again, puzzled. Kendall gasped, pulling him from his shock. The sound was so loud he was afraid she’d been shot.

  “There it is,” she said.

  He saw what looked like a mountain of rock covered by vines. Then he noticed windows and doors peeking through the vegetation. It was a castle built against a hillside, like something out of a fa
iry tale. It was three stories tall, with towers rising at each end. Beyond it, he could see a garden with fountains and a maze.

  Kendall moved toward the castle in a daze. “It’s like the one in my vision. Without the blood and bones.”

  “You saw this place?”

  She nodded. “When I touched the drawing of the box. We have to be careful. There’s danger here.”

  That was obvious by the obstacle course they’d encountered getting here. “We need to leave. Now.”

  “Alt!” a voice growled behind them.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  KENDALL SPUN, HER heart racing. This was no goat herder. He was tall, and he wore a long, dark garment, something between a robe and a ninja outfit. His hair was dark and hung past his shoulders. Tattoos covered one side of his face, making it as hostile as the dagger sheathed at his side. Narrowed, amber-colored eyes drilled into hers. “Who are you?”

  Jake moved in front of Kendall, his body brushing hers, close enough that she could feel the tension vibrating through his muscles. “My wife and I are honeymooning. We were hiking and got lost.”

  “How did you get past the wall?” the man asked.

  “We uh...climbed,” Kendall said. “The vines...”

  “You must leave,” he said. “I’ll escort you out.”

  Kendall looked at the dagger. “What is this place?”

  “It is private.” The man continued to stare with those strange eyes. Jake stared back, his tourist face never wavering.

  “Couldn’t we take a peek around outside first?” she asked. “Those statues are amazing.”

  “She’s always loved old places, haven’t you, love?” Jake planted a kiss on her hair.

  “No one is allowed here,” the man said, but his focus was on Kendall.

  “Could we see the garden before we go?” Jake kept his tone friendly. “I’m studying plants native to Italy.”

  The man looked up at the sky, which was darkening quickly. He frowned and moved his hand closer to his dagger. “Just the garden. Then you must leave.”

  Jake took a step, keeping her close to him.

  “Not her,” the man said. “Women are not allowed.”

  No women? Ordinarily, that would have had Kendall fuming, but an ancient mentality fit perfectly with an ancient secret order.