Guardians of Stone (The Relic Seekers)

by Clenney, Anita

  Kendall jumped in surprise, accidentally elbowing Jake in the face. He cursed. She scrambled away and faced him. He was holding his head. He moved his hand and she could see fresh blood seeping through the bandage.

  “You’re not much fun on a honeymoon.”

  “I’m sorry. You startled me. How long have you been awake?” Could he have known what she was thinking? It was hard to remember that others couldn’t do what she sometimes could. She wished she couldn’t either. Life would be much simpler.

  “Not long. Why? Were you trying to seduce me in my sleep?”

  Kendall shook her head and stood up. “What time is it?” she asked, stretching.

  Jake looked at his watch. “Damn. It’s seven thirty at night. We rested all day.” He sat up and the sheet slipped low on his stomach.

  Kendall looked away. “We needed the rest. What does it matter since we’re trying to stay hidden?”

  “We have work to do before the trail gets cold. How about tossing me some underwear before you fix my head. Unless you want me to get them.”

  “I’ll get them.” She grabbed underwear from his duffel bag, and found a bandage and superglue. She dropped everything on the bed and sat on the edge. “Why am I doing this? You can change your own bandage.”

  “You hit me. It’s the least you could do.” He leaned back and watched her as she worked. It was unnerving being so close to him. The gray in his eyes darkened until they looked like a stormy sea. “You could do more than bandage my head.” His gaze was steady, not leering, a heavy look that made her feel as if she were caught in a hurricane. She was tempted to forget about caution and just see what would happen.

  He must have seen it in her eyes. He lifted a hand to her face, running his thumb over her lips. His breathing changed, and she saw he was getting hard. There was a knock at the door and the moment broke. Kendall jumped, knocking the tube of superglue on the floor. “I’ll get that.”

  It was Brandi. “How’s Jake?” She looked past Kendall to where Jake lay, hands over his lap.

  “Good. But I was about to change the bandage, if you want to take a look.”

  “Sure.” Brandi approached the bed. “You look better than you did earlier,” she said to Jake. “How on earth did the car explode?”

  Jake shrugged. “I’m not sure. Faulty wires...”

  “You were hiking there?”

  “Yes,” Jake said. “It’s a good thing you came along.”

  “Both of you were very lucky,” Brandi said. “You could have been killed.” She glanced at Kendall. “I’m surprised your injuries aren’t worse.”

  “He threw himself over me just before the blast.”

  “What a gentleman. When was your last tetanus shot?”

  “Last year.”

  Brandi took out a flashlight and checked his eyes again. “Looks good.” Her hands weren’t as steady as they had been this morning. Something had her so tense she was ready to crack. She flicked off the light. “But no more hiking. You both need rest. Lots of it. Nurse’s orders.” She removed the old bandage and looked at his cut. “Superglue. Innovative.”

  “It works,” Jake said, “until your bride gives you a good head butt and rips it open.”

  “Don’t tell me the honeymoon is over,” Brandi said.

  “She’s a messy sleeper. Throws her elbows around.”

  “Can you stitch it?” Kendall asked, wishing she had one of those bones he’d hated from the catacombs. She’d hit him on the good side of his forehead.

  “I don’t have sutures with me.” Brandi applied more glue and quickly bandaged Jake’s head. “Off your feet. Stay in bed and rest. Things should be quiet. Everyone will be leaving for the tour soon.”

  Kendall walked her to the door. As soon as it closed, she heard the mattress shift.

  “Interesting,” Jake said.

  She turned and saw Jake pulling on his underwear. She quickly lowered her eyes. “What’s interesting? Brandi?” Of course he’d think she was interesting. A hot redhead. All she needed was a short nurse’s uniform.

  “She called me Jake.”

  “So did Thomas.” She looked up, noting with relief that Jake had on boxer briefs. But Jake in boxers was just about as good as seeing him naked.

  His eyes narrowed. “What’s that mean?”

  “I just think it’s strange that he knew your name.”

  “He probably heard it from you. You can climb like a billy goat but you’re loud as hell.”

  She scowled at him. Adam always said she was loud too. “I slipped and called you Jake in Brandi’s car. She probably heard me.”

  “Then why are you accusing me?”

  “You’re hiding something.”

  “Everyone’s hiding something.” He walked across the room and grabbed a pair of jeans from the duffel bag and pulled them on. “You telling me you don’t have secrets?”

  “It’s too much of a coincidence that she just magically appeared right after a bomb blew up our car. And when we were running from the castle, I thought I saw red hair.”

  Jake picked up his Dopp kit and headed for the bathroom. “We’ll question her, but not until everyone’s out of the inn. Maybe during this damned tour Loretta keeps talking about.”

  “She’s not going to admit it if she’s involved.”

  “We can make her talk.”

  “I think Roberto might object to you torturing his guests.”

  “I’ll see if I can get her to talk without going that far.”

  “What’ll you do? Seduce her?”

  “Sometimes it works.” He disappeared into the bathroom.

  Kendall frowned. How would he know?

  When he returned, he picked up his boots and a pair of socks lying on the bed.

  “We need to start searching for the box,” Kendall said. “We know Thomas left the castle, but he could be anywhere now.”

  “I’m still waiting for Nathan to get back to me on Thomas’s ID. With his resources, they should know something soon. That may help us track him down. In the meantime, think you can do anything with this?” Jake picked up a jacket lying over a chair and pulled something from the pocket. It was a cigarette butt.

  “Is this what you found near the car when you saw the tracks?”

  He nodded. “It must have belonged to whoever set the bomb.”

  “And one would assume that would be one of the thieves. Unless you’re right and there’s someone else involved.”

  “Or the goat herder was smoking.” He handed her the burnt stub.

  She smelled it first. Sometimes one of her five senses could open the door to the sixth. Smell was the strongest. The butt smelled disgusting, like old cigarettes always did. She saw eyes but not their color, only the greed behind them. “He’s greedy. And desperate.”

  “That’s all you’re getting? Greedy and desperate?”

  “What do you want? His name? Maybe a street address?”

  “It’d be nice.”

  “I’ve told you, it doesn’t work like that.”

  “How does it work? You knew Thomas wrote the note.”

  Her gift seemed to work however and whenever it wanted. Sometimes it felt like having a person with a twisted sense of humor living inside her. Often when she was sure she would get something, she didn’t. Other times she would get glimpses when she was least expecting them. Her father had warned her that it wasn’t an easy gift to have. He was right.

  “It’s complicated. I can try it again later and see if I pick up anything else.” She sighed. “This is the first time anyone’s tried to kill me. I don’t like it.”

  “It doesn’t get easier the second or third time.”

  “I keep thinking about Raphael’s face when he saw my necklace. He looked like he was going to have a heart attack. What happened to his cross?”

  “I have it in my pack.”

  “We need to find out where Nathan got his cross. Obviously it’s connected with this secret order, since Raphael had one.”r />
  “You’ve seen his collection. Wasn’t it there?”

  “No. But I haven’t seen everything he has.” Jake raised an eyebrow. “You know what I mean. I hadn’t seen this cross until he gave it to me at his house.” Yet she felt like she had. “Nathan doesn’t show me everything...I’m going to hit you if you don’t stop doing that.”

  “You sure he didn’t hire you to handle more than just his relics?”

  “Not everyone thinks with their...” She waved her hands at his crotch.

  He grinned and started pulling on a sock. “Your eyes are greener when you’re pissed. I like it.”

  “We need to call Nathan.”

  His grin faded. “Not yet.”

  “Why are you being so pigheaded about this?”

  “We’ll call him when we find the box. Trust me, it’s better that way.”

  “I’d trust you more if you would tell me what he’s holding over your head.”

  He paused, one sock on, one off. “What makes you think he’s holding something over my head?”

  “You don’t like taking orders. It galls you to do what he says.”

  He yanked on the other sock. “Your gift tell you that?”

  “A blind person could see that.”

  He shoved his feet into boots and started lacing them up. “I owe him something.”

  “What?”

  “That’s between him and me.” He stood and walked to the door. His mood had soured.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get us some food. Do I need your approval for that?”

  “Brandi said you should rest.”

  “I don’t care what Brandi said. I have too many people giving me orders already. Don’t leave the room.”

  He left the room without even asking what she wanted to eat. He didn’t like taking orders but he loved throwing them out. Kendall got the torn piece of letter from her bag. Roberto would know what it said. That made her think about the note Thomas had written. Maybe she could pick up something new that would help them find him. She found Jake’s pack beside the bed and unzipped it. The note was still in the side pocket. She removed it and saw that it wasn’t the note from the hotel. This paper had been ripped from a notebook or journal. Someone had sketched one of the statues. Jake must have done it. When? She turned it over and saw more sketches. There were four objects, including a dagger, or was it a sword?

  A noise sounded in the hallway. Thinking it was Jake, she quickly dropped the paper and stood. She heard Brandi’s door shut. Kendall peeked out and saw Brandi heading downstairs. This could be the perfect opportunity...Kendall checked the hallway, and then crept to Brandi’s door. Locked of course.

  Kendall wasn’t any good with locks, but she could climb like a monkey, and she had noticed Brandi’s window was partially open when she brought them to the inn. Luckily, Brandi’s room was located right next to Kendall and Jake’s. Kendall raised her window and looked outside. All clear. She climbed out and balanced on the ledge. The trellis was between the two rooms. She stretched out her hand and tested the boards. Sturdy. She swung one leg over and got a foothold before following with the other. Brandi’s window was still open. It was a stretch, but she got the window opened enough to slip inside.

  Brandi’s room was smaller than Kendall and Jake’s. And it was neat. Kendall hated rifling through someone’s drawers, but she had to know if Brandi had the box. Kendall searched the entire room, carefully leaving no trace of her presence. If there was a box here, it was invisible. She was about to close the last drawer when she noticed the silver locket in the corner.

  She picked it up, almost immediately dropping it again at the rush of emotion. Anger and heartache. Holding it lightly to lessen the effect, she opened the locket and saw a picture of a family: mother and father and two young children, a boy and a girl who looked about the same age Kendall had been when she lost her father. Even from such a small picture, the hair and clothing suggested wealth, and the styles weren’t recent. This must be Brandi as a child. Whatever had happened had broken her heart.

  Kendall heard voices approaching the door. It was Brandi and Jake.

  Kendall hurried to the window. Thank God it was getting dark. She slipped out onto the trellis. The tour group was just leaving. She hoped their eyesight was too poor to see her clinging to the side of the inn. She peeked inside and saw Jake and Brandi entering the room. Had he decided to go for seduction rather than torture without even telling her, when she was supposed to be his wife?

  She clung to the trellis, trying to decide what to do. Go back to her room? Wait it out? She chose to wait. After what seemed like an eternity, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She couldn’t hear any sounds coming from Brandi’s room. Kissing wasn’t loud. Sex could be, but not necessarily. Kendall peeked inside. Brandi was lying on the bed and Jake was hovering over her. Kendall’s mouth dropped open. She stood on her tiptoes to see better. Her foot slipped and she banged into the wall.

  Jake replaced the telephone in the library, feeling a little better about what he had to do. He had a buddy on assignment in Italy who had agreed to keep an eye on Kendall until Nathan got there. His next call would be to Nathan, telling him to come get her. He wouldn’t be happy that Jake was going off without Kendall, but time was running out. Two thieves were already dead. Thomas must have the box. Who knew what he’d done with it. Sold it. Destroyed it. Jake didn’t really care. He wanted Thomas.

  After Nathan found out how close Kendall had come to dying, it wouldn’t be hard to convince him to collect his relic expert and take her someplace safe. Kendall was the one who was really going to be pissed. But it would be for her own good.

  He started for the stairs and met Brandi. She seemed startled to see him. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  A lightbulb went off in his head. “Actually, my cut’s bothering me. Could I get you to take a look at it? Make sure it’s not infected?”

  She looked like a rabbit searching for an escape, but she was a nurse and he was injured, so that didn’t leave her much choice. “Sure.” She started toward Jake’s room.

  “Kara’s resting. Could we do it in yours?”

  “Uh...OK.” She was nervous now. She opened the door to let him in. Loretta’s door opened. She and Gilbert stepped into the hall. Loretta’s eyes widened and her lips pursed.

  “Jason...Brandi. Me and Gilbert are leaving for the tour. I hope you’ll join us. And Jason, bring your wife.” Loretta took Gilbert’s arm and they left.

  Damn.

  Brandi stepped inside her room. The minute she turned and closed the door, he hit a pressure point on her neck. He scooped her up as she collapsed and laid her on the bed. Then he went to work. Her room was small and neat. It looked like no one stayed here. He sniffed. Kendall was so stuck in his head, he could smell her even in here. He moved quietly. He didn’t want Kendall to hear him and try to help. This was a one-man job. He searched the entire room but couldn’t find any sign of the box. He went back to Brandi and bent down to check her breathing. He heard a thump outside the window. Someone was out there. He hurried to the open window and peered over the edge. Kendall was clinging to the trellis, looking at the ground.

  Dammit. What was she up to now?

  He heard Brandi rousing, so he hurried over and told her she’d fainted. She looked alarmed, and when he insisted that she not worry about checking his forehead after all, she quickly agreed. He went back to his room to yell at Kendall, but she wasn’t there. He looked out the window and saw her standing on the ground, her back pressed to the wall. He watched for a second, wondering what she was up to now. She peered around the corner of the inn, and then jumped back out of sight. Brandi was walking through the parking lot, headed for town. The tour group was well ahead of her. Kendall gave Brandi a head start and took off after her. Jake cursed and hurried downstairs. By the time he got outside, Kendall was a good distance ahead of him, walking at a fast pace. Had she seen him in Brandi’s room?

  Sh
e had reached the main street now, darting in and out of the couples and families on their way to dinner, tourists walking stiffly on sore feet and a group of prima donnas prancing around in stilettos. Damn fool things to wear on cobblestones, no matter how good they made a woman’s legs look. He wondered if Kendall ever wore stilettos.

  The tour group had gathered in front of the church, their lanterns held high. Roberto stood at the front of the group, announcing in a loud voice the first stop; the graveyard, haunted by a man who had been buried alive. Even this far away, Jake could hear Loretta squealing with fright. Brandi put her head down and hurried past the tour group. She darted onto a side street just past the chapel. Kendall quickly took the street on the other side of the chapel, her shoulders set with purpose.

  Jake followed, trying to figure out what the hell either one of them was doing. He hadn’t gotten far, when he heard a scream.

  Kendall cut through the graveyard, hoping she hadn’t lost Brandi. She was going to figure out what the nurse was up to if it killed her. She immediately regretted the thought, since dying had been so frequently imminent in the past twenty-four hours. It was time for answers. Like what was Jake doing in her room with Brandi on the bed? Kendall hurried past the headstones. She could hear them calling to her, whispering their stories. A shadow stepped out from behind a grave and a hand closed over her mouth.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  SHE FELT DEATH, greed, and desperation in the arms clamped around her chest. The cigarette smoker. Kendall fought and kicked as her assailant dragged her between the headstones. A mausoleum near the back of the graveyard appeared to be his destination. Kendall knew from the tour map Roberto had given her at the inn that the mausoleum was the entrance to a small catacomb. There was no way she was going to be held prisoner inside a tomb again.

  The sound of voices reached her ears, and she saw the flicker of lights approaching from the other side of the graveyard. She recognized Roberto, speaking louder than the others. “They say his spirit still roams at night.”

  She couldn’t move her arms, but she managed to open her mouth enough to bite down on her captor’s finger. He swore and let go. She turned and threw a kick that she hoped connected with his groin. Groaning, he doubled over. Kendall screamed at the top of her lungs and shot across the graveyard.