Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers) (16 page)

“Looks like an ordinary fountain to me,” Jake said.

“This might not be the fountain Marco was talking about, but this is anything but ordinary. This well has been flowing for over two thousand years.”

“There’s no one here. Do your thing. See if it’s the real deal.”

“Why are you so anxious? You worried about Nathan?”

He scoffed but nudged her to the edge of the fountain. Kendall sat on the side. Jake put down the clothes he’d stolen and sat next to her, dipping his fingers in the stream of water. He touched his finger to his tongue. “Tastes like water. A little metallic. Come on, get your fingers wet.”

Kendall touched the water, and she felt a rush of energy that jolted her so hard, she fell against Jake. He grabbed for her, but they both landed in the basin. Kendall gasped as the cold water ran over her head.

Cursing, Jake scrambled to his feet and pulled them both out of the fountain.

“That’s cold,” Kendall said, shivering.

Jake swiped water from his face. “Your gift sucks sometimes, Legs.”

He hadn’t called her Legs in a while. “I’m sorry.” Kendall wiped her face with her hands. The day was nice for October, but for anyone wet and without a jacket, it felt like December.

“I think you have a gift of your own,” Kendall said, pointing at the stack of dry clothing. “Good intuition. We’re going to need those.”

“Blimey, that’s the fourth person to fall in the fountain today,” a man exclaimed.

“This place has a strange effect on people,” his female companion said.

Kendall turned around and saw a man and woman watching them curiously.

“Was one of the others a man?” Kendall asked.

“Yes,” the man said.

“What did he look like?”

“Short hair, tall. Maybe thirty.”

“Was he handsome?”

She heard Jake snort behind her as the man shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Oh yeah,” the woman answered. “He was a hottie.”

The man gave her a startled glance.

“Well, you been looking at every pretty thing ye’ve seen. I’ve got eyes in me head too.”

“Did you see which way he went when he left here?” Kendall asked.

“That way,” he said. “Toward Little Saint Michael’s.”

“What’s that?” Jake asked.

“It’s lodging for people who support the well.”

“What’s he doing going that way?” Kendall asked.

“He probably made a phone call and bought the place.” Jake took Kendall’s arm and pulled her toward the entrance.

“Is she wearing pajamas?” the woman asked quietly as they walked away.

“Where are we going?” Kendall asked. “Nathan went this way.”

“I don’t care where Nathan went. We’ve got to get out of these wet clothes. People are staring. Don’t give me that look. As much as I’d like to see you naked, I’m thinking about our well-being, not sex. We don’t want to end up sick. We’re a long way from home with nothing but the clothes on our back, my pocketknife, and your sixth sense until the car gets here. And your sixth sense is quirky to say the least.”

He handed her some dry clothing, and they went to the restrooms and changed. Kendall would have paid a hundred pounds for clean underwear. Her sweats were gray with
GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND
, emblazoned across the front of her shirt. It wasn’t pretty, but it was better than pajamas and it was clean. She freshened up her face and finger-combed her hair. She got lucky and found a ponytail holder lying on the sink. She grimaced but pulled her hair back with it. “Ugh,” she said to herself in the mirror, and then rolled up her old clothes, stuck them under her arm, and walked outside to meet Jake. He was wearing a matching outfit. His clothes fit better than hers, which were a little too snug.

“This getup does more for you than me,” he said, looking her over. His old clothes were balled up in his hand. She didn’t want to look twice, but she was pretty sure he was commando. Yep, there was his underwear sticking out from under his old jeans and shirt.

“We have to find Nathan. The car should be here soon,” Jake said.

“I’m not sure if you’re worried about Nathan or getting to a hotel for a warm meal.”

“A steak sounds good.”

“You’re just too stubborn to admit that you care about him too.”

“Nathan’s all but holding me hostage. Work for him, or go back to prison. Does that sound like someone I should care about?”

“That sounds like someone who’s desperate. And he has a good reason to be desperate. He needs you to help him get rid of this curse, what he thinks is a curse.” There were times when she felt cursed, but she’d used her talents for good. She had helped people, protected relics, shed light on history. Maybe Nathan was looking at this the wrong way. It still left the question, where had he gotten this ability?

“You’re the relic hunter. I’m just a bodyguard.”

“You’re more than that, and you know it. You’ve hunted plenty of treasure yourself. Where is he?”

“Probably avoiding us,” Jake said. “He doesn’t trust himself around you.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“I know that’s how I’d feel if I thought I had a monster trapped inside me and I’d accidentally knocked you down.”

“It wasn’t his fault. It was the ghosts playing tricks.”

“As you keep reminding me. But if he had changed into whatever he changes into, he could have killed us both.”

They found Nathan spying on a house near the entrance to the well. He was soaking wet, hiding in some trees. Kendall never would have spotted him, but Jake did.

“Decide to take a swim?” Jake asked.

Nathan turned around. He was shivering. “Why not?”

“You’re turning blue. You’re going to get sick,” Kendall said.

“Here you go, billionaire boy. How about some warm clothes? And I have power bars.” Jake tossed Nathan a set of sweats. “Money isn’t everything.”

Nathan took the sweats. “Thanks.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t find underwear.”

Nathan went to the restroom to change.

“Now you’re staring at the house,” Jake said. “What do you see?”

“I don’t know. There’s something intriguing about it.”

“You think it’s something inside, or someone?”

“I don’t know. There’s some kind of energy there.”

Nathan exited the restroom wearing his sweats. Kendall purposely didn’t look to see if he was wearing underwear. “I think that’s our ride,” Nathan said, pointing to a shuttle van waiting on the street.

“No limo?” Jake asked.

“Too noticeable,” Nathan said. “I’ll make sure it’s ours.” He jogged across the street to the waiting van. After a conversation with the driver, Nathan motioned to Kendall and Jake to follow. Nathan opened the door for Kendall. “I told Fergus to send something that wouldn’t draw attention. I don’t want anyone to know we’re here.”

“I agree,” Jake said. “I’m just surprised you thought of it.”

Kendall nodded to the driver and took the seat all the way in the back, leaving the men the middle row. Nathan got in next. His hair was still wet. The red-haired kid and his mom walked past as Jake got in. The kid looked over and made a pig face.

“I’m going to scare the shit out of that kid if he’s still here when we get back,” Jake said, getting in.

“Ignore him,” Kendall said. “All kids can be brats. I’m sure you were too. I bet you drove your mom crazy.”

He didn’t say anything.

“Where did you grow up?” Kendall asked.

“Here and there,” Jake said.

“Army brat?”

“Orphanage. Foster care.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize. What happened to your parents?”

“I don’t know.”

“You didn’t know them?”

“No.” His face was tight.

“But you have a grandmother,” Kendall said.

“She didn’t know about me until I was older.”

Kendall’s curiosity was ramped. How could his grandmother not know about him? But she saw the set of his jaw and knew he wouldn’t say more. Nathan was watching Jake with a thoughtful look on his face. Both Nathan and Jake had mysterious pasts. That was a bizarre coincidence. Both men had been there each time Marco mentioned Adam. Was it possible that Jake was the one Marco was referring to and not Nathan? She wouldn’t use her abilities to pry. Not yet. But she was determined to find out if one of them was Adam.

“What happened at the well?” she asked Nathan.

He shrugged. “Nothing. At least not yet. I don’t know what to expect.”

“If Kendall wasn’t here, I’d hit you and see if it worked,” Jake said.

“Jackass. Give me a power bar.”

Jake handed him a power bar and a bottle of water. “I borrowed them from the gift shop. We’ll have to reimburse them.” He glanced back at Kendall. “Are you cold? Your hair’s still wet.”

“I’m fine.”

“How’d your hair get wet?” Nathan asked.

Jake gave a short laugh. “You’re not the only one who went swimming. Kendall knocked both of us in the water.”

Nathan stopped eating. “You touched the water?” He angled his body toward her. “Did you sense anything?”

“It shocked me.”

“The water?”

She nodded. “There’s something powerful about the fountain, but I don’t know if it’s just because it’s so old or if there’s something else there.”

“There’s no way in hell the Fountain of Youth is going to be right out there in the open,” Jake said.

“He’s right,” Nathan said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Unless there’s another part to it,” Kendall said.

“What do you mean?” Nathan asked.

“Maybe you have to do something besides just drink from it.”

“Bloody hell, I dunked my whole body,” Nathan said, looking oddly vulnerable.

“I don’t know, but I need to go back and study the place,” Kendall said. “We only saw the fountain, not the actual well.”

“Take a towel next time,” Jake said.

Kendall thumped him on the head. “How’s Marco?”

“Fergus said he’s much better. They’re in Italy.”

“Marco is feeling well enough to travel?” Kendall asked.

Nathan nodded. “They wanted to come, but I said no. I don’t want them in danger.”

Jake pulled out the last two power bars and scowled.

“If you don’t like them, why didn’t you steal something else?” Kendall asked.

“They’re practical, nutritious, and easy to swipe.” He handed her one.

“No thanks. I’ll wait until we get to the hotel and have a filet mignon.” She leaned closer. “And maybe a cold beer or nice glass
of wine.” She smiled sweetly when she heard his stomach growl and then leaned back in her seat. She turned to Nathan. “You look tired.”

“I am. The cave did something to me.”

“That goes for all of us,” Jake said. “I’d like to believe it was poor air quality, but I don’t think it was.”

“I think falling through the portal, or whatever that was, drained our energy.” And maybe she wasn’t the only one affected by that shadow she’d sensed. She would have to keep an eye on both of them.

“That cave isn’t normal. I don’t know how, but we lost a day in there,” Nathan said.

“Come again?” Jake said.

“It’s not Tuesday. It’s Wednesday,” Nathan said. “We lost time.”

After Kendall and Jake had absorbed the shock, Kendall told them what the woman in the shop had said about fairies stealing time.

“This whole place is strange,” Jake said. “Like the Protettori’s castle.”

“The castle and this place are obviously connected. Maybe the monks at Glastonbury Abbey weren’t really monks,” Kendall said.

F
ERGUS HAD MADE
reservations for them at the nicest hotel in Glastonbury. Jake and Kendall were given adjoining rooms for security. Nathan’s room was on another floor.

The rooms were luxurious, but Kendall hardly paused to explore as she headed for the bedroom. She was going to take a bath as long and as hot as she could stand it. She thought about Nathan and Jake and the Fountain of Youth. She drifted off and woke up with her chin touching the water. She climbed out and dried off before putting on a plush robe and slippers provided by the hotel.

When she walked out, Jake was lying on her bed, sound asleep with an open book beside him. Shaking her head, she walked toward the bed.
Glastonbury Abbey
was the title of the book. She considered pinching him, but he looked so peaceful, she just stood and watched him for a minute. He was wearing his stolen sweats, but his hair looked damp as if he’d showered. His face was relaxed, mouth slightly open, jaw shadowed with a hint of beard. His face was as incredible as his body. How could a man look so good? she wondered as she picked up the small pillow from the foot of the bed. She smacked him on the stomach with the pillow, and he bounded off the bed.

She jumped out of the way. “Why are you sleeping in my bed?”

“I brought you some books. Hell, don’t ever startle me like that. I could have hurt you.”

“And I’m not supposed to be startled to find you asleep on my bed in my locked bedroom?”

“I knocked. You didn’t answer. I came in. Bodyguard, remember? That’s how it works unless you want me to stay in here all the time.”

“I’m surprised I was able to sneak up on you.”

“I’m off my game from that damned cave. Nathan sent you some books.” He pointed to the stack on the table, then picked up the one that had fallen on the bed. “There’s some interesting stuff about the abbey in here. I was reading about the black knight who guards the abbey. Lots of people claim they’ve seen him.”