“A dead end,” Jake said. “Imagine that.”
“The markings look like those on the cave wall,” Kendall said. “Look, there’s a nice fat circle.”
“Circles are good,” Jake said, shining his light on the mark.
“Try pushing it,” Nathan said.
Kendall felt the warning, but it was too late.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
LOOK OUT!” SHE yelled as a rumbling noise filled the tunnel. Something slammed into her. When the dust cleared, she saw Jake and Nathan both above her. They moved aside and she slowly sat up. “Next time you decide to knock me clear of danger, take turns. I think you broke my ribs.” She regretted saying it, because they lost a full two minutes of valuable time with her trying to convince them she was being sarcastic.
“I knew we’d find booby traps sooner or later,” Jake said. “Guess we shouldn’t have pushed the circle.”
The noise had come from a solid wall crashing down from the ceiling, blocking them in.
“This trap proves this is the right way,” Kendall said.
“There must be a way to get out. We could push the circle again,” Nathan said.
“The wall will probably start closing in and crush us,” Jake said.
“Look for a keyhole,” Kendall said.
“Is this one of your hunches?” Nathan asked.
“Hunches?” Kendall turned and looked at Nathan. “Why do you call them hunches?”
Nathan shrugged. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Adam called them hunches.”
Nathan’s jaw clenched. Kendall saw something flash in his eyes before he looked away.
“Nathan, what did you remember when Raphael touched you?”
“A plane crash,” Nathan said. “There was a fire. A man grabbed me and pulled me off the plane. Then it exploded.”
“Who was the man? Did you recognize him?”
“No. I couldn’t see.”
“It was dark?”
“I was blind, I think. I couldn’t remember anything. I don’t think I knew who I was. He took me somewhere. I remember being in the woods. He pressed the cross into my hand, and then he fell. I think he died.”
“I thought you found the cross,” Kendall said.
“I’ve always had it. I never knew where it came from,” Nathan said.
“How could you have gotten a Protettori cross?” Jake asked.
“From my father,” Kendall said. “He must have given it to you. To Adam.”
“You think I’m Adam?”
“I’m not sure, but I believe you might be,” Kendall said.
Nathan seemed troubled by this.
“If your father died, he can’t be the Reaper,” Jake said.
“Raphael came back alive.”
“We’ll have to sort out Nathan’s past later,” Jake said, “or we’re going to run out of air.”
They examined the four walls, but it was taking too long and the air was getting thinner.
“If we don’t get out of here soon, we’re not gonna get out.” He was looking at the wall where they’d found the circle. “There’s a crack here on the side of the wall. It must be a door.”
“A door isn’t any good without a knob,” Kendall said.
“We can break through it,” Jake said.
“It’s solid stone,” she said.
“And Nathan has superhuman strength.” Jake turned to Nathan. “You’re the only one strong enough to move that wall. But you’re gonna have to put some adrenaline behind it.”
“No.” Nathan looked at Kendall. “There has to be another way.”
Jake shook his head. “There’s no other way. We’ll run out of air before we find the keyholes or whatever it takes to get out of here. You have to remember, they’re guarding the Fountain of Youth. They’re not going to make it easy to find.”
“I can’t just make it happen,” Nathan said.
“I know. I’m going to hit you, get your adrenaline going. You have to focus your anger on that wall. We’ll all die if you don’t. Kendall will die.”
“Then hit me and get the bloody hell out of the way.”
“You can’t hit him,” Kendall said. “He’ll kill you before you can get out of the way.”
“You have a better idea?”
“Yes. Nathan, stand by the wall. Jake, come over here.” She led him to the far corner of the closed-in space.
“What good is this going to do?” Jake asked.
“Nathan, focus on the wall.” Kendall moved closer to Jake. Reaching up, she pulled his head down and kissed him.
“What the hell?” he mumbled against her mouth.
“Kiss me.”
She opened her mouth against Jake’s and nibbled at his lips, watching Nathan’s reaction. His face was tight. He was getting upset, but she didn’t know if it was enough.
Jake wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeper. He lifted his head a little. “Is it working?”
“I don’t know. He’s upset, but he knows it’s just an act.”
Jake swiveled Kendall around so that he was facing Nathan. He moved his hands down to her butt and started pulling her against him.
Nathan’s hands clenched. “Stop,” he growled. His voice was different. Deeper.
“I’m sorry I had to do that,” Jake whispered in Kendall’s ear. “But I think it’s working. His eyes are turning.”
She glanced back and saw Nathan’s body tense, his eyes fully changed now. They were amber but looked like a light was behind them, almost as if they were on fire as Brandi had said. He was magnificent.
He took a step toward them, fists clenched.
Kendall darted out of Jake’s arms and stepped closer to Nathan, her eyes locked on his. She felt Jake grab for her, but she was too quick. “Nathan, please listen to me. You have to move the wall.”
He stared at her for a moment longer, eyes bright as a flame, and Kendall understood the saying like a moth to a flame. Nathan could be dangerous in this condition, but she wanted to get closer to him.
He blinked once, then turned and slipped his hand in the crack along the edge of the door and started pulling. The door started to move, but it was slow. Nathan let out a roar that sounded deafeningly loud in the small space and pulled harder. It had only moved a few inches. Not enough for them to get through yet. They could get enough air to survive, but it wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t stop the Reaper from drinking from the chalice.
Jake slowly approached Nathan and knelt near the widening crack. Nathan turned and looked at Jake, and a shiver moved over Kendall’s skin at Nathan’s glowing eyes. What if he killed Jake?
“I’m going to help,” Jake said. He sat down and put his back against the wall. He wedged a boot against the crack in the door, and he pushed while Nathan pulled.
“It’s opening,” Kendall said, starting toward them.
“Approach him slowly,” Jake said softly.
“I can hear you,” Nathan said. He turned and looked at Kendall. His eyes were still amber and he was panting.
“You’re controlling it,” she said.
He kept looking at her as the amber darkened until his eyes were their usual stormy gray.
“You did it, Nathan.”
“Time for congratulations later,” Jake said. “Let’s get out of here.”
They stepped through the doorway into the cave underneath the Tor. “I had hoped I wouldn’t see this place again,” Jake said. “Any idea how to get to the room Raphael kept you in?”
“No. He’d knocked me out,” Nathan said.
“We need to find the mark on the wall like the one in the journal and on Nathan’s arm,” Kendall said. “I think it was closer to where we exited the cave.”
“That should be this way,” Jake said, pointing. “I can hear the statues humming. Everybody look for a wheel. And be quiet. He’s probably got company.”