And very old. Like Merlin-old.
CHAPTER TWENTY
BRANDI WATCHED AS a man stepped from the shadows of a building across the street from the Chalice Well. Only one police car was left there. She’d heard that the caretaker had been murdered. At first, she’d worried that it might have been Kendall, that her note hadn’t arrived in time. The man turned to glance at Little Saint Michael’s, and she saw his face clearly for a second. It was Nathan. He must have stolen the chalice.
He walked toward the town, and she followed at a distance. She was going to destroy the chalice before the Reaper could get his hands on it. Nathan started moving faster, and she had to jog to keep up. God, he was fast, and he wasn’t even running. He cut through Glastonbury Abbey. Brandi hurried to catch up. She heard a noise up ahead as if someone had fallen. She slowed when she got close, heart pounding wildly. It was crazy to consider trying to take the chalice from him, if he had it. She didn’t know what was up with him, but whatever she’d seen back at the hotel wasn’t quite… normal.
It was quiet now. She could see the ruins beyond her, but the sounds had disappeared. Where was he? She pulled out the knife Thomas had given her. There was a movement beside her, and a man rushed at her from the bushes. She tried to move aside, but he was coming too fast. Instinctively, she lifted the blade, and the knife sank into his chest. She gasped and jumped back.
He fell to his knees, clutching at the knife, then collapsed.
“Oh God.” She hadn’t meant to stab him. She just wanted the chalice. She knelt down to see if he was still alive. It was so dark underneath the trees, she couldn’t see well enough to evaluate his injury. She grabbed his hand and took his pulse. None. Bile rose in her throat. Even though she had told Nathan she would kill him if he got in her way, she wasn’t a killer.
Her knee hit something near his body. A bag lay on the ground. He must have dropped it. She felt the bag. There was something hard inside, the shape of a cup, a large cup.
She grabbed the bag. She couldn’t leave the knife Thomas had given her, so she pulled it from the body and wiped it with the bottom of his shirt. Then cradling the bag in her arms, she ran.
Kendall’s senses were still rattled after Raphael’s unexpected visit. At least Raphael didn’t appear intent on killing Nathan for kidnapping him. It was sad sometimes what had to pass for a ray of hope.
“We’ve got to go to the tunnel,” Kendall said.
“We need to wait until everyone’s asleep. There are too many people still wandering around. We should grab a few hours’ sleep and plan on working all night.”
“I need a shower,” Jake said. He opened his duffel bag and took out a pair of underwear and his dopp kit. “My own deodorant. Life is good.”
“What about pajamas,” Kendall called after him, but the door was already closing. She smiled. Did it matter now? They had taken things to a new level. She wasn’t sure how it would all work out, but for now, she would just let it ride. It felt good not to be on guard, worrying about a touch or a kiss killing a relationship. With Jake, her senses had a different effect. It was intense, but good.
Kendall went through her backpack and duffel bag. Seeing her clothes and brush and equipment was almost as good as finding a new relic. She hung the clothes that she hadn’t even unpacked in Italy and heard the water turn off. She prepared herself for Jake to emerge in some form of undress. He shocked her by appearing in one of the robes from the bathroom.
“You all right?” he asked. “You look like you’ve seen a vision.”
“You emerging from the bathroom in more than your underwear must be some kind of miracle.”
“Sir Jake at your service,” he said, bowing. “Shall I sleep in the hallway, m’lady, or perhaps you would allow me to rest upon the cold, hard floor. I can cushion my head upon my arms if you don’t want to lend me a pillow from yon bed.”
She smiled. “Shut up and get in bed. I’m going to shower and get changed.”
He grinned and dropped the robe. He might as well have been naked.
Kendall slapped his butt. “Anyone ever tell you that you have a nice ass?”
“No one that matters.”
Good answer.
He pulled back the covers that they had wrecked earlier and lay down, watching her. “I figure we’ll sleep for three hours. That should be enough time for even the late-night wanderers to be in bed.”
She hurried through her shower and joined him in the bed. He was staring at the ceiling. “What are you doing?”
“Thinking.”
“About?”
“Life.”
“Any part of it in particular?” she asked. “Or just life in general?”
“Parents. You and I and Nathan work together, and all three of us have screwed-up childhoods. Your mom died giving birth to you. Your dad’s at least several hundred years old and part of a secret group.” Jake shrugged. “And he may be the Reaper. Nathan can’t remember anything about his childhood. It’s all mystery.”
“He told me some,” Kendall said.
“When?”
“That morning in his bedroom when he changed.”
Jake frowned. “What’d he say?”
“His mother died when he was a baby. His father died later. He was in a witness protection program or something.”
“Hell, that’s worse than I thought. No wonder finding anything out about him is nearly impossible.”
“What about you?” Kendall asked, feeling a sense of anticipation. Would she find out he was Adam? Wouldn’t he know if he was?
“I was orphaned when I was a toddler.”
“A toddler?” Then he couldn’t be Adam. But Nathan’s father was in a witness protection program, and that didn’t fit either.
“I never knew my mother or father or why they didn’t want me.”
“Oh, Jake.”
“The only thing I had was Lilly.”
“Lilly? You mentioned her in your sleep the first night at Little Saint Michael’s.”
“She was my friend when I was young. The only person I trusted for a long time.”
“She was your Adam.”
“What?”
“Your best friend. Like Adam was mine.”
He nodded. “I could tell her things I didn’t tell anyone else.”
“Like?”
“My dreams.”
“What kind of dreams?”
“King Arthur and knights. I’ve dreamed of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table for as long as I can remember.”
Kendall’s jaw dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“That’s not something you advertise,” Jake said.
“This is amazing. I thought you were a complete skeptic of anything unexplained.”
“I was.” He looked at her. “Until now. I thought the other stuff was just dreams. A boy wanting to feel important. Then I met you. I’ve seen other things since. Like the couple in the forest. And I didn’t tell you this, but I saw King Arthur at the abbey when we had the séance. You were right. He looks like Nathan.” Jake seemed disturbed by that statement.
“It must be this place.”
“I guess. I don’t know how you can deal with this stuff all the time.”
“It gets old, but I don’t have a choice. So what happened to Lilly?”
“She died.”
“What happened?”
“I never knew. She just went away and they said she had died.”
“I saw a grave once, when I touched you. Actually a couple of times. I saw blond hair. I wonder if that was her grave. But I had this feeling like I was suffocating.”
Jake went completely still.
Damn, Kendall. She was his best friend. “I’m sorry, Jake. That was insensitive of me.” He didn’t speak, didn’t even seem to be breathing. “Jake, what’s wrong?”