Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers)

by Clenney, Anita

  What if there were two of them? Kendall was alone. Jake hurried back to the shop where he’d left her. She was watching out the window, green eyes narrowed. When she saw him, her face relaxed. She stepped out onto the street to meet him.

  “No luck?”

  “I lost him.”

  “Was it Nathan?”

  “No. But he looked familiar. I’ve seen him somewhere.”

  “Here in Glastonbury?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “If it wasn’t Nathan, who could it be? Who knows we’re here? It’s not as if we flew here by plane. We fell through a maze.” Her eyes widened. “Could it have been Raphael? Did he have long hair?”

  “He was wearing a hood. Let’s grab a bus before the others start back. I’d rather see the chalice now.” They hurried toward the bus stop, but the others were waiting. Too late. They’d have to put off finding the chalice yet again.

  Back on the bus, Halle moved to the seat in front of Kendall and Jake. She looked worried. “You aren’t injured, are you?” she asked, her voice then dropping to a whisper. “We can’t lose you now.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Kendall said.

  As they got closer to the house, the talk on the bus turned to the magnificent Nathan Larraby. Alice was the only one who had actually seen him; at least she thought it was him since he was so handsome, but the others joined in his physical and financial praises until Jake felt like jumping off the bus. “If I hear another person say how amazing Nathan is, I’m going to walk the rest of the way.”

  “Jealous?” Kendall smiled. “You shouldn’t be. The women are drooling over you every time you walk by.”

  By the time the doors of the bus opened, Jake had seriously considered using pressure points to put them all out. Larry wasn’t much better. He seemed as intrigued with Nathan as the women were. “Finally,” Jake exclaimed, getting off the bus.

  “I hope he’s here,” Kendall said. That irked him even more than the women and Larry gushing over Nathan. But Nathan wasn’t there. Everyone scattered to get ready for dinner and the moonlight tour at the abbey.

  While Kendall showered, Jake tried to call Nathan. He still wasn’t answering his cell phone, and the hotel said he wasn’t in. Selfish bastard. Didn’t he know Kendall was worried?

  He left the room and heard a voice coming from the caretaker’s bedroom. He hurried to the door. It was locked, but he heard a window opening. Jake ran out of the house and around to the window. He saw someone running toward the Chalice Well. A woman with red hair.

  After Kendall showered and dressed, she went to find Jake. The hallway was quiet. She could hear everyone laughing in the kitchen. This might be the best time to at least touch the door to the Upper Room and see if she picked up anything. She climbed the stairs. The familiar buzzing filled her head, and her breath felt heavy in her lungs.

  “What are you doing?”

  Kendall turned around and saw Halle at the bottom of the stairs.

  “I was just looking around. Is this the Upper Room?”

  “Yes. As I mentioned, it stays locked. I was looking for you.” Halle held up an envelope. “You have a message.”

  Finally! It must be from Nathan. She hurried down and took the envelope. Kendall was written across the front. “Thank you,” she told Halle, and went to her room to read in private.

  Kendall closed the door. She opened the letter and took out a folded piece of paper with the words, Be careful. You’re in danger.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  SHE RAN BACK to find Halle. “Who delivered the letter?” Kendall asked.

  “A woman.”

  “What did she look like?”

  Halle frowned. “She was young, maybe late twenties, kind of nervous. She just said, ‘Could you please give this to Kendall Morgan,’ and then she left. Like I said, she seemed jumpy. She kept looking over her shoulder. There was one thing I noticed. She had on a hat, but a few strands of hair had slipped out. Really pretty red hair.”

  Brandi.

  “Is everything OK?”

  “Yes. I need to find Jake.”

  “I saw him going toward the gardens about ten minutes ago.”

  “I think I’ll take a walk too.”

  “Don’t be too long. We’re having fish and chips at seven, and then the bus will take us to the abbey.”

  “I’ll be ready,” Kendall said, edging toward the door. Clutching the letter, she hurried toward the garden. Jake would be pissed that she’d left the house, but it was daylight and she had to let him know about the letter. Alice walked in from the street. “Kendall, I see you’re getting some fresh air too. I hope you’re recovered from that incident at Camelot. I’m so excited about tonight. Maybe we’ll even see King Arthur.”

  “If we’re lucky,” Kendall said. “Have you seen Jake?”

  “I did. He went for a run.”

  A run? Kendall’s alarm bells started ringing. Jake wouldn’t go running away from her unless he was chasing something. “Which way did he go?”

  “Toward the orchard across the road.”

  After Alice moved on, Kendall started running toward the orchard that joined the Tor. She cut between the trees, listening as she ran. She felt someone behind her and turned. Jake emerged from the trees, scowling at her. “I told you not to leave the house.”

  “I don’t like orders any more than you do. I was looking for you. Halle said a woman just delivered this to the house.” Kendall handed Jake the letter. “I think it was Brandi. Halle said she had on a hat, but some red hair had slipped out.”

  “It was Brandi. I just chased her here from the house.” Jake opened the letter and read it. “I need to get you out of here. We’re going back to the hotel.”

  “I’m not leaving until we get to see the chalice. I don’t know if it’s what we’re looking for, but I think there’s something powerful up there.”

  “You went up there?”

  “I tried, but Halle interrupted me.”

  “I’ll take you to the hotel. Then I’ll come back and get the chalice. I’ll bring it to you.”

  She took Jake’s hands in hers. “We’ll find out answers here, not back at the hotel. The abbey and the Protettori are somehow connected. I know you think it’s a risk, but it’s important.”

  Jake fussed and cussed and fussed some more, but he let the subject drop. “At least let them go without us. We’ll look for the chalice while the house is empty.”

  “You stay and look for it. I’ll go with the group. I might pick up something else from the abbey.”

  “You’re not going anywhere without me. I’ll make a deal with you. We go to the abbey for the first part of the tour. We’ll slip away and come back here to find the chalice. Then we go to the hotel.”

  “Deal.”

  They went back to the house and had a quick dinner. The fish and chips were delicious, but neither of them ate much. Kendall knew from the look on Jake’s face that he was in bodyguard mode. He showered and she changed into the dress that seemed to be a requirement for her role. The bus dropped them at the entrance to the abbey. Jake stuck to her side like Secret Service on a president. There were several men and women in costume. Monks, nuns, knights, and she got a glimpse of Henry VIII. A man who introduced himself as Richard Whiting gave them a tour.

  “What about the treasure?” Alice asked. “Do you think it’s still here?”

  Staying in character, the guide replied, “Of course, my lady. We hid it well from yon thieving pagans.” He pointed to Henry VIII. “The best still lies hidden in the tunnels.”

  “Where are the tunnels?” Kendall asked, thinking he might know more of local legend than she’d heard.

  “Legend says there’s a hidden entrance near the Lady Chapel, but the black knight guards it.”

  “The black knight?” Alice said. “You mean the ghost.”

  “Have you seen him?” Sandy asked.

  A look of something, maybe fear, crossed the guide’s face. “Once.”
He cleared his throat and stepped into character again. “Let us continue to the abbot’s kitchen.” The guide led them on, but Kendall’s head was spinning.

  They had reached the abbot’s kitchen when she felt a prickle in her neck. She glanced around, thinking it might be Nathan or Raphael. Maybe even Brandi, but she didn’t see anyone watching, just the group milling about. The feeling persisted. She was so busy looking for the culprit that she almost missed seeing her father.

  He stood near the Lady Chapel, watching Kendall. That must have been what she sensed. His cowl was down and she saw him more clearly than she had at the castle. She started toward him, not blinking for fear he’d disappear. Someone called her name, but she didn’t stop. She walked within two feet of him. He didn’t move this time, as he had at the castle.

  “Daddy?”

  He wasn’t looking at her, but at the Tor. He looked sad. And then he vanished. She grabbed for him, but he wasn’t there. “No.”

  “Kendall.” Jake stepped up to her. “They’re coming.”

  She shook her head, disoriented for a moment, and saw the group rushing toward her.

  “What did you see?” Sandy asked.

  They looked at her with so much hope in their eyes, she wished she could give them her damned gift. “A monk,” she said, keeping the emotion out of her voice. Probably not as successfully as she thought, since Jake was holding her arm and watching her with a worried frown. “An old monk.”

  “Did he speak to you?” Alice asked.

  “No, but he seemed very interested in the Tor.” The others turned to look. Larry thought he saw something, and it distracted the others long enough for Jake to pull her aside.

  “What the hell are you doing? I don’t care what kind of ghost you see, you stay with me.”

  “It was my father.”

  “Here? He gets around. He’s probably here to help me. I’m sure he knows better than anyone how damned hard you are to keep an eye on.”

  “I don’t think it was his ghost. I think it was another memory. He belongs here.”

  “I thought he belonged at the castle.”

  “I think he was here first.”

  “You realize this abbey was shut down in the sixteenth century?”

  She nodded.

  “That means he’s…”

  “Really old. I think my father is the Reaper.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  JAKE SAID A word that made a woman with a young child scurry away. “You’re shitting me?”

  “No. When I felt that dark shadow in the cave, it felt familiar.”

  Jake’s face was tense. “How long have you thought this?”

  “For a while. I wasn’t sure. I’m still not.”

  “Damn. We’re out of here. I don’t care what you say. I’ll knock you out if I have to.”

  She knew he was serious. She had no intention of leaving, but in his frame of mind, it might be best not to tell him now. “What about the chalice?”

  “I’ll get the damned chalice first.”

  “Don’t curse. That might be the Holy Grail you’re talking about.”

  Kendall felt the ground start to vibrate under her feet. “Oh no.” She turned and looked at the Tor. “The lights are back.”

  The abbey was completely silent as everyone watched with stunned expressions as the lights danced above the Tor.

  “They’re more powerful now,” Kendall said.

  “What are they?” Jake asked.

  “I think it’s the Reaper.”

  Nathan opened his eyes and sat up with a start. His head ached. What had Raphael done to him? He tried to stand, and on the second attempt, he succeeded. There was a sliver of light on the floor in front of him. He walked closer to the light and saw it was a door. The light and a humming sound came from the other side. He still didn’t know where he was, or how he’d gotten here.

  He had to get out of here and find Kendall. How? He wasn’t so worried about Raphael finding her and killing her, but there were things he needed to know. He didn’t know whether to tell her his suspicions or wait to find out for sure. It could be Raphael’s past that he had seen, like Kendall and Jake had done when they touched Raphael’s dead body. He didn’t know how he could have forgotten her, but it would explain so many things. Like why he done as if he’d known her a lot longer than he had. And why the first time he saw her, he’d felt like a lightning bolt had struck him. And there were all the little things in the months since she’d been working for him. There were times he knew what she was thinking, and times he was afraid she knew what he was thinking. He’d learned to block her for fear that she would find out about his curse and that she would know how obsessed he was with her. Otherwise she’d have left for sure. And that would kill him.

  Nathan walked toward the door. It was arched, wooden, an old door. He pulled it open and stepped into the golden glow. The light was soft, but after going from darkness, he needed a moment to see without squinting, and he was stunned at what he saw. The room was large. Cut stones covered the floors and walls, and columns stood along the edges, reminding Nathan of a Roman temple. The light seemed to come from the floor. He glanced at the ceiling and saw an elaborate painting resembling a da Vinci. He looked around and his breath caught. In one corner, there was a statue. Just like the ones at the castle.

  He heard someone behind him and turned. Raphael stood in the doorway.

  “I thought you’d sleep longer. You’re more powerful than I thought.” Raphael’s amber eyes studied Nathan.

  “What did you do to me?”

  “Nothing that will hurt you.”

  “Are you going to explain anything?”

  “In time.”

  “I want it explained now.”

  “You’re used to ordering people around, but it doesn’t work that way here.”

  “Where is here?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Then tell me how to get out. I have to find Kendall.”

  “You love her?”

  “No, she… works for me. I’m responsible for her. I got her into this mess.”

  “You didn’t mean to hit her.”

  “Bloody hell. Did you just read my mind? What are you?”

  A noise sounded above them, a whirring, and he felt a vibration in the floor. He looked up, thinking it might be an earthquake. The air seemed to waver over his head.

  Raphael stared at the spot. “It can’t be.” Then he extended his arms toward the wavering air, stiffening them as if some force were coming from his fingertips, and his body pushed back, as if a force were being returned. After a minute, the whirring faded and Raphael lowered his arms.

  “What the hell just happened?” Nathan asked.

  “He figured it out,” Raphael said, his face dark. “If he gets the chalice…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but it wasn’t comforting to hear the fear in Raphael’s voice. He turned to Nathan, his face set like stone. “You must leave.”

  “I would have already been gone if I knew how to get out.”

  The next thing Nathan knew, he was lying in an orchard at the bottom of the Tor. There was no sign of Raphael. And Nathan still had no answers, except he was more powerful than Raphael realized. Had he dreamed the whole thing?

  Frustrated, he stood and dusted off his pants. He was more lost and confused now than before. Raphael had opened up a lot of questions without offering any explanations. Nathan needed to contact Kendall and Jake. He still didn’t trust himself to be around Kendall, but he had to tell them about Brandi’s visit and about Raphael. And he still had to find a cure to his curse. Raphael had said there was a way, but it would be severe. He’d also mentioned a chalice. Could this be the same chalice Jake had mentioned in the message? Could the Blue Chalice be the Holy Grail?

  “I’m going to get that chalice if I have to do it at gunpoint,” Jake said as the bus took the group back to the house. After the lights, everyone decided to call it a night. There was excitement, but everyone compla
ined of headaches.

  “I’m starting to think that’s the only way we’ll see it before the caretaker returns,” Kendall said.

  “I’m not waiting for the caretaker to come back.”

  She didn’t want to wait either. The sense of danger was stronger than ever. Nathan was in trouble.

  As soon as they got inside, Kendall’s pulse quickened. “Something’s wrong.”

  “What do you mean?” Halle asked.

  “Someone’s been here,” Kendall said. “Check the chalice.”

  “I don’t have a key,” Halle said.

  Jake ran toward the stairs and the group followed. “You don’t need the key,” he said.

  The door to the Upper Room was open and everything was in shambles. Chairs and a table were overturned with drawers emptied on the floor.

  “Oh no,” Halle wailed. “The Blue Chalice. Call the police.”

  “Do you think Nathan took it?” Kendall whispered as the others surveyed the damage in horror.

  “You know how desperate he is to get rid of his curse,” Jake said.

  Desperate enough to steal? Probably. “Why didn’t he let us know he was here?”

  “My guess is he wants to try it to see if it works first.”

  “Brandi could have taken it,” Kendall said. “She was here.”

  “I’m ruined,” Halle moaned. “They’ll think someone from our group did it.”

  “But we were all together,” Larry said. “The thief must have broken in during the tour.”

  “I’m going to check the caretaker’s room and see if he was there,” Jake said. “Make sure no one comes that way.”

  The group lamented the loss of the chalice while waiting for the police. After a few minutes, Jake hadn’t returned. Kendall said she would go watch for the police to arrive. She hurried down the steps to the caretaker’s room. Jake stood by the bed. Kendall noticed the smell at the same time she saw the lump underneath the covers. Her legs went weak. “Nathan?”

  “No.” Jake moved away from the bed.