Kendall almost choked. “It’s been an emotional hour,” she said, wiping her mouth where the water had spilled down her chin.
“I know. I saw you kissing him.”
“He was just proving that he wasn’t dead. I thought he was dead. He kept saying he wasn’t. Ghosts don’t kiss.”
Jake’s jaw got even tighter. “They also don’t shake hands. Guess that wasn’t good enough.” He picked up Nathan’s bag by the door and walked across the room. “I’m sure you wanna get dressed,” he said, dropping it on the table.
He and Nathan shared one of their testosterone-loaded looks. Nathan took the bag and went to the bathroom. Kendall glanced at Fergus and thought he rolled his eyes. He caught her looking and put on his butler face.
“I should get back and check on Marco,” Fergus said. “I don’t like leaving him alone for long.”
“I’m surprised how well he’s doing,” Kendall said.
“He improved right after you left.”
“Maybe he was faking,” Jake said.
Fergus shook his head. “I don’t think so. He seems to heal quickly.”
“Something in the water, I guess,” Jake said.
“He talked about drinking a lot after you left. I thought he was asking for water, but he didn’t want water. Then he mentioned something about the fountain. I thought he was rambling.”
“He didn’t have anything unusual to drink, did he?” Kendall asked.
“I found a small vial under his bed. I asked the nurse about it. She hadn’t seen it. It looked old, like something in one of Nathan’s collections, but Marco hadn’t left the bed.”
“Where could it have come from?” Kendall asked.
“It was right after Raphael vanished,” Fergus said. “Perhaps he gave it to Marco.”
“Nathan said Raphael saw Marco,” Jake said.
Kendall nodded. “And Raphael told us that the water from the fountain is how he recovered.”
“You mean how he went from being dead to being alive,” Jake said.
“You think it was water from the fountain?” Fergus asked.
“It could have been,” Kendall said. “Marco is certainly doing better now. When I was in the room in the castle with the mural and the round table, I saw some vials and cups. That must have been water from the fountain.”
“Oh my. There was a bit left in the bottom and I dumped it out.”
“I wish you’d kept it,” Kendall said.
“I wish I had drunk it,” Fergus said.
Nathan came out of the bathroom dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and boots. What was up with him? A tattoo? Jeans? She had thought for a while that he might be hiding behind his money, suits, and no-nonsense manner. Now she was even more suspicious.
Fergus stood. “Will I see you in the room later?” he asked Nathan.
Nathan shook his head. “No. I’m sleeping here.”
Jake lifted a brow. “You are?”
“I am.” Nathan sat down at the table.
Fergus frowned as he passed Kendall. “Will you keep an eye on him?” he whispered.
Kendall nodded. When the door closed behind Fergus, she sat at the table. “This has been a crazy, intense night, but we have work to do and not much time. Raphael said those lights over the Tor are the Reaper trying to come through. We have to stop him before he gets the chalice to the Fountain of Youth.”
“Isn’t this the Protettori’s job?” Jake asked.
“I think the Protettori need help,” Kendall said.
Jake leaned on the table, his brow furrowed. “We need a strategy and weapons.”
“First, we need knowledge.” She opened the journal.
“Did you make sense of it?” Nathan asked.
“It seems to be a mix of Latin, Italian, and Old English. I think I’ve found references to the Fountain of Life, hidden within sacred ground, and Beacon at Sea. Long ago, the Tor was surrounded by water. The mountain was referred to as a beacon. And it was considered a sacred place by ancient civilizations. I think we all agree that the Tor is probably where the fountain is hidden.”
“We just have to figure out how to get inside,” Nathan said.
“Easier said than done,” Jake said.
“Not necessarily.” She turned the journal to another page and pointed out a tiny sketch. A circle. “I think I’ve seen this symbol on the cave wall.” She touched Nathan’s shoulder. “And on your arm. Your tattoo.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
DON’T TELL ME you dreamed about the wheel too,” Jake said.
Nathan looked almost embarrassed. “OK.”
“Hell, is there anything about this stuff you haven’t dreamed?”
“You did dream about it, didn’t you?” Kendall asked.
Nathan nodded. “A lot. In a… disturbed moment, I had it tattooed on me.”
“I’ll translate that to a drunken moment,” Jake said. “So you’re a walking map.”
“I think if we can find that symbol again, we’ll find the entrance to the Fountain of Youth,” Kendall said. “The second part is the chalice.” Kendall turned to the sketches. “We know these four sketches are probably the relics.” She pointed to one that resembled a bowl. “This one… I think this is the Holy Grail. In fact, I saw it in a vision, and I’m almost certain that’s what it is.”
“You saw it?” Nathan asked.
She nodded. “It was amazing. I’ll tell you all about it when we have more time.”
Jake looked so sullen she would have slapped him, but she was so glad they were both sitting at the table alive and well that she ignored his bad humor.
“Also, Raphael looked shocked when I told him King Arthur said to find the chalice. And we know what King Arthur’s quest was.”
“The Holy Grail,” Nathan said. “Brandi said the Reaper was searching for it.”
“I think that’s proof. We’re looking for the Holy Grail. What we don’t know is whether the Blue Chalice is the grail. We haven’t seen it. But people are dying over it, so we have to assume it is.”
“We have to find the chalice before he does,” Nathan said. “If it’s not too late.”
“Assuming your attacker stole it, I’m surprised it wasn’t with the body,” Kendall said.
“I didn’t know it was missing, so I wasn’t looking for it,” Nathan said. “I didn’t have much time to look at anything. As soon as I saw his body, I heard the police coming. I almost didn’t get away in time.”
“We need to go back and search the area,” Kendall said. “If it’s not there, then the cops found it, or the killer already gave it to the Reaper.”
“Or Brandi accomplished her goal,” Jake said. “After what Marco said, I think Brandi might be right about destroying the relics. If they’re destroyed, there’s no threat of some egotistical maniac trying to use them.”
“We can’t destroy them,” Nathan said.
“We won’t,” Kendall said. “At least not until we see if they’re your cure.”
Nathan looked tired. “I don’t think it will be. Raphael said there was a way to get rid of this thing, but it would be complicated. It’s not likely I’ll just drink from the fountain and be cured.”
“But it keeps them young for… centuries,” Kendall said. “And Fergus thinks Raphael gave Marco some to drink before he escaped the mansion. He found a strange vial under the bed. Maybe it’ll cure you.”
Nathan’s face brightened. “Marco told me he hadn’t had the drink in a long time. I asked if he needed water, and he said not that kind.”
“You’ll be taking a risk,” Jake said. “We don’t know what the side effects might be.”
“Can they be any worse?” Nathan asked.
“Hell yeah. There are people who would kill to have what you have,” Jake said. “You’re like a superhero.”