The Lost Chalice (The Relic Seekers Book 3) (16 page)

Jake sat down next to Kendall again. “What now? You think I’ve had the Holy Grail all this time. You remember I was in prison.”

“Of course he doesn’t have the Holy Grail,” Kendall said, daring Nathan to say differently. “But if the Reaper didn’t find the chalice, either the prince didn’t have it or someone else took it.”

“Who?” Nathan asked.

“Thomas?” Jake said.

Nathan rubbed his chin, which Kendall noted that, like Jake’s, needed a shave. “Wouldn’t he have told his sister that he had the Holy Grail if that’s what he and Brandi spent so many years searching for?”

“Maybe Thomas didn’t know what he had,” Kendall said. “Was there anyone else who could have stolen it?”

“As far as I know, the Reaper and Thomas were the only ones who came out alive,” Jake said.

“And you,” Nathan added.

“Well, I don’t have the chalice, and the Reaper doesn’t seem to either. That leaves Thomas.”

“We need to find Brandi,” Kendall said.

“I have her number,” Nathan said.

“How’d you get her number?” Kendall asked.

“I had my research team retrieve it.”

“Is that legal?” Kendall asked.

“Legalities aren’t on my radar right now,” Nathan said.

Jake nodded. “This is about—”

“Survival,” Kendall finished with him. “Well, let’s call Brandi and tell her that her brother may have been hiding something from her.”

“You’d better call,” Nathan said. “She freaks out around me.”

“I’ll call,” Kendall said.

“Let me.” Jake pulled out his phone. “I think Kendall freaks her out too, after that episode in the temple. I can put the fear of God into her, but in a more human way.” Jake called Brandi’s number and told her that they needed to meet. “You won’t believe where she is,” he said after he hung up. “The inn.”

Kendall looked surprised. “Our inn?” she said, and then caught Nathan’s frown. “The inn where we stayed?”

“The very one,” Jake said.

“You think she’s been following us?” Kendall asked.

“I’d bet my stock in Microsoft that she has,” Nathan said.

Brandi didn’t wait at the inn as she’d been told to do. She waltzed right up to the castle’s railroad tunnel and demanded to see Nathan. Six armed guards escorted her at gunpoint to the library and waited until Nathan, Kendall, and Jake arrived. Unfortunately, Raphael got there first. He was looming over Brandi, who was backed up to the wall. She was wearing a pair of jeans that looked like she’d slept in them, and the sleeve of her purple shirt was torn. The guards looked undecided about who they should protect.

“What the hell?” Nathan said to the frightened redhead. “My guards could have shot you.”

“Raphael could have squashed you like a bug,” Jake added.

“What is she doing here?” Raphael demanded. “She refuses to speak to me.”

“We called her,” Kendall said quickly. “She has information we need.”

“This is unacceptable,” Raphael said. “This castle isn’t a Holiday Inn.”

“Why didn’t you stay at the inn?” Jake asked.

“I had to get away,” Brandi said. “Someone’s been following me.”

“It’s usually the other way around,” Nathan said.

Jake scratched his head. “So what, you led them to us?”

“No. I lost them.”

“Who were they?” Nathan asked.

“There were two men. But one of them looked familiar.” Brandi hesitated, as if she couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “I think it was Thomas.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

T
HOMAS IS DEAD
,” Kendall said.

“I know. I buried him, but I swear it was him. Can that be possible?” Brandi looked both frightened and hopeful.

Kendall thought about the rogues who had been stone for centuries and were now breathing, flesh and blood . . . and wandering around God knew where.

“Things don’t always stay dead,” Jake said, as if he’d read her thoughts.

“What are you saying, that he’s some kind of zombie?” Brandi looked horrified.

“He could have faked his death.”

“Oh no, he wouldn’t do that to me after what happened to our parents,” she said.

“Maybe he had no choice,” Jake said. “You said his cover was blown. The Reaper knew who he was. Maybe he wanted the Reaper to think he was dead. Dead men can’t be killed.”

“No.” Brandi shook her head, but she looked unsure.

“Where were the two men?” Nathan asked.

“At the inn. I saw them watching the place. They weren’t being obvious, but I’ve learned a few things about tracking someone.”

“You’ve gotten a lot of practice following us,” Nathan said.

Brandi scowled at him. “I’m in this just as much as you are.”

“But with different goals,” Nathan said.

“Don’t you two start fighting over the relics,” Kendall said. “Let’s find them first. Then we can figure out whether to save them or destroy them.”

Jake scratched his head. “You two should be a little more sympathetic. The Reaper probably killed both your fathers.”

Brandi gave Nathan a surprised glance. “He killed your father?”

“I suspect he did,” Nathan said. “My father’s collection was one of the best in the world. I’m sure the Reaper knew about it.”

“Your fathers must have known each other,” Jake said. “They probably fought over relics.” He gave a short laugh. “Guess you’re carrying on in their stead.”

“Did Thomas say anything more about the Holy Grail?” Kendall asked Brandi. “He must have heard the Reaper mention something.”

“The last time I spoke to him, he was frightened. He said this thing with the Reaper went deeper than he had thought. He must have discovered something else.”

“Like the Holy Grail,” Jake said. “Maybe the reason the Reaper couldn’t find it was that Thomas had already taken it.”

“No. He would have told me if he’d gotten hold of something that important.”

“I don’t think he told you a lot of things,” Jake said.

“He may not have known what he had,” Kendall said.

“He didn’t have it on him when he died,” Nathan said. “He had the journal in his bag, but nothing else.”

“The Spear of Destiny had already been stolen from his bag,” Jake said. “Who’s to say he didn’t have the Holy Grail too?”

“We’re still at square one,” Kendall said.

“We need to go back to the source,” Nathan said.

“Please tell me we’re not going to Iraq,” Kendall said.

“We may not need to,” Nathan said. “Do you have Thomas’s bag?” he asked Brandi.

“Not with me, but I still have it. Why?”

“For Kendall.”

“Ah, she’s going to play bloodhound,” Jake said, catching on to Nathan’s train of thought. “It’s about time your sixth sense astounded us.”

“There’s a problem,” Brandi said. “The bag’s in Washington, DC.”

“No problem,” Jake said. “Billionaire boy has a jet.”

“So this is how the other half travels?” Brandi said, touching the plush leather of the seat.

“You think his jet is nice, you should see his mansion,” Jake said, dropping into a seat next to Kendall’s.

Nathan frowned and sat opposite them. Brandi gave him a wary look. “I don’t bite,” he said.

“But don’t startle him,” Jake said.

Kendall reprimanded him with a playful slap on his hand, and then let her hand rest next to his. He could feel the warmth from her fingers and couldn’t stop his from slipping over hers. She didn’t pull away. Ignoring Nathan’s solid stare, he started forming a battle plan.

They would go to DC and search Thomas’s house. No one was certain that Thomas had the chalice, but he had stolen the Reaper’s journal, and he had taken the Spear of Destiny from the Reaper’s thieves in Italy. It was as good a place to start as any. Better than most, considering they had squat to go on. Kendall and Brandi fell asleep on the way. Better to rest now, Jake thought. Sleep could be a rare thing until they found the chalice.

Nathan left to talk to the pilot. Jake could hear him talking to his security guards and tech team. They were trying to identify where in Prague the Reaper may be living since Raphael still couldn’t remember much about his trip through the portal with his former comrade. The guardian had been ready to collapse and had used all his mental focus to get back to the fountain.

Jake called Clint, his military buddy who was house-sitting for him after a recent break-in. No one had come back, but Clint said he felt like someone was watching him.

Jake turned to Nathan, who had returned to his seat while Jake was on the phone. “Did you bug my damned house?”

“No.”

“Nothing inside at all?” Jake asked.

“Nothing.” Nathan closed his eyes.

“It’s not bugged,” Clint said. “I checked that. Couldn’t find anything, but this place makes my hair stand. I’d rather be back in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban.”

“Maybe the house doesn’t like you.” Jake laughed, but Clint didn’t.

“Damn place is messing with my head. Either you’ve got a carbon monoxide leak—didn’t think to check that—I’m losing my mind, or you’ve got a ghost.”

A ghost? Who the hell would be haunting him? Unless his grandmother was still there. But he wasn’t going to admit that to Clint. He told him to leave. If the Reaper was watching his house, he didn’t want Clint anywhere around. If the house was vandalized or destroyed, so be it. With everything else going on, his house didn’t seem so important. Jake put his phone away and looked at Kendall, who was still sleeping. He needed a few hours’ rest himself, so he could be up to this task. Taking on a two-thousand-year-old man wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

T
HE DRIVE FROM
the airport into Washington, DC,
passed quickly, and the stately buildings lining the streets faded behind them as they headed into a residential area of town houses.

“Turn here.” Brandi pointed out a small one-way street. “Thomas’s town house is at the end. I have a spare key. I used to visit him sometimes when he wasn’t traveling.”

“We’d better park down the street,” Jake said. “The Reaper could be watching the house.”

“I don’t think he knows about it. It’s not in Thomas’s name. He was paranoid about that stuff. He used a fake name, no lease, paid cash. The landlord was probably some kind of drug lord, but Thomas needed somewhere private and safe. Damned relics.”

“Have you always hated them?” Kendall asked.

“I loved them when I was a kid. The ones my father would let me see. Thomas did too. His dream was to follow in his footsteps. But afterward . . . we couldn’t even bear to mention relics and antiquities. You don’t know what it’s like seeing your family murdered.”

“You saw it?” Kendall asked.

Brandi nodded. “We found the bodies.”

“I’m so sorry.” Kendall put her hand over Brandi’s.

At least she remembered them. Jake had nothing, just some mixed-up dreams about a grave. The same damned grave he’d dreamed about all his life. “Was your father’s entire collection stolen?”

“All of it.”

“I remember it,” Nathan said. “I was interested in buying it just before he died.”

“When was this?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know, maybe seven years ago.”

“You were collecting relics back then?” Jake asked.

“I’ve always loved relics, even when I was a kid.”

So had Kendall. And Adam. Nathan was remembering his life before. Jake wished he could remember his. He and Nathan had more in common than just their feelings for Kendall. They both had blank spots in their pasts.

“Did your father buy from the black market?” Kendall asked.

Brandi shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. He may have bought some things illegally, but I know his collection was the envy of the relic community. He had a lot of rivals. There was always a race to find the rarest object, and then a battle to see who could win the bid. He was really excited in the weeks before he died. He’d found something important and was worried about two other bidders. I believe one of them must have been the Reaper.”

Jake scratched his jaw. “Wonder what the object was?”

“You mean you wonder if it was the Holy Grail?” Nathan asked.

Jake lifted a shoulder. “Obviously the Reaper lost it at some point. Someone had it. The prince got it somewhere. Maybe he was the second bidder.”

“I remember my father telling my mother that he would need enough money to beat royalty. I thought he was joking. If the Reaper killed my parents to get the Holy Grail, maybe the prince stole it from the Reaper. Then the Reaper hired you to get him into the prince’s palace to steal it back.”

“Sounds like a chess game,” Jake said.

The town house was in a middle-class section of town. The yards were small, the buildings old. Thomas’s looked blank. No personality.

“I assume he didn’t spend much time here,” Nathan said as they approached the front door.

“More than you would think. But he wasn’t really living.” Brandi pulled out a key and opened the front door.

It looked more like an office than a home. There was an old couch, a chair, a desk, a computer, and maps everywhere. Europe. Asia.

“I told you he was obsessed,” Brandi said.

“Knowing his sister, I’m not surprised,” Nathan said.

“Like you’re not obsessed about anything,” Brandi said, glancing at Kendall.

Nathan scowled at her. “Where do we start?”

“Here.” She walked over to a bookshelf that held magazines—
National Geographic
and travel guides among them—as well as an old set of encyclopedias that looked like they’d never been used. She pushed a section of books, and the shelf started to turn, revealing a door. “This is where he kept most of his research.” She stepped into the room, and the others followed. Brandi walked over to a desk and turned on a green banker’s lamp.

The room was small, with dark walls covered in more maps. A long table was pushed against the wall. It was littered with papers and a few candy bar wrappers. Brandi sighed. “He loved junk food.” She cleared her throat. “Any files should be here in the desk. He kept pretty good notes.”

“What about the computer?” Nathan asked. “Or a laptop.”

“He didn’t trust computers. He kept that one but rarely used it.”

“How did the Reaper contact him?” Jake asked.

“He didn’t say. By phone, I would guess.”

They found a notebook that contained a page of names. “These must have been his Reaper suspects,” Jake said.

“He started looking for the Reaper a few years ago. He researched the biggest collectors, even from a few decades ago. He didn’t know how old the Reaper was. If someone was interested in relics, he went on Thomas’s list.”

“Your name’s probably here,” Jake said to Nathan.

Nathan tilted his head and examined the book. “Blimey. It is.”

“Are you the Reaper?” Brandi asked with a tilt of her lips. “Maybe that explains those eyes.”

Nathan frowned and continued scanning the list. His finger stopped underneath a name, and his frown deepened.

“John Whitmore,” Jake said, following Nathan’s index finger.

“That’s Uncle John,” Kendall said. “And my dad’s here too. William Morgan.”

“Was he a collector?” Jake asked.

“Somewhat, but he was more involved in the archaeological side of things. He handled the digging. Uncle John handled the finds.”

“Thomas made notes of their activities,” Brandi said. “I’ve never seen this book, but he told me about it. He put together dates and places where different collectors had traveled. He wasn’t sure about the Reaper’s identity until recently.”

“Is there a name?” Kendall asked. “We still don’t know the name the Reaper’s using now.”

“Could be more than one name,” Jake said. “He may have several identities.”

“We need to search the rest of the house. I want to see Thomas’s bag,” Nathan said.

“I left the bag in his bedroom,” Brandi said.

“Kendall can stay with me,” Nathan said. “We’ll keep searching this room.”

“Or she can stay with me,” Jake said. “You both have habits of falling through portals.”

Brandi grabbed Jake’s arm. “It’s my brother’s house. I choose you. Your eyes don’t glow.”

He didn’t argue. He’d wanted an opportunity to talk to Brandi. She probably knew more about what happened in Iraq than anyone besides Thomas and the Reaper.

She led him upstairs to the bedroom, sparsely furnished with a bed, a chair, and one chest of drawers. A few items of clothing were thrown about the room. Brandi picked up a flannel shirt. “I didn’t have a chance to do anything with his things.”

“I’m sorry he died,” Jake said. “I didn’t really know him. Just the brief contact when he hired me, but I guess it turns out we were on the same side. I wish I’d known. We could have combined our resources.”

“
He didn’t trust you. Not then. I think he did later, after the girls.”

Jake’s jaw tensed. The girls. He hadn’t wanted to talk about them.

“Thomas didn’t know the prince was involved with human trafficking. He said the Reaper didn’t either. Thomas admired you for saving them.”

He hadn’t saved them all.

“Thomas was coming to help you get the girls when he saw someone beyond you getting ready to take a shot. He thought the man was aiming at your back, so Thomas shot at him. Turned out the guy was actually getting ready to shoot at Thomas. He’d found out what Thomas was up to.”

“I thought your brother was shooting at me. I never saw the other guy. Who blew up the helicopter carrying my team?”

“Thomas didn’t know if it was the Reaper or if it was the prince protecting his collection of relics.”

“Did Thomas kill the prince?”

“I think he did. He was very upset over the whole thing.”

“If it was him, he did the world a favor,” Jake said. “It took a lot of balls to double-cross the Reaper.”

Brandi picked a leather bag off a chair. “This is it. His bag.” She ran her hand over the leather, and her face tightened. “I hope Kendall can find something from this. I want this bastard dead.”

“That bastard is old and powerful. You’d be better off if you got out now. I know he killed your family, but he’s dangerous. Let us get rid of him. That’ll be your revenge.”

“I can’t back off until I see those relics destroyed myself. The Reaper isn’t the only one who would misuse them. Half the population would probably kill to get their hands on items like that.”

She had a point, but it wasn’t his call. “It’s not up to you or me. The Protettori is in charge.”

“Nathan is the one who has the Spear of Destiny.” Her eyes narrowed with speculation. “Tell me where he hid it, and I’ll tell you a secret.”

“About what?”

“The Reaper. Do you ever wonder why he hired you?”

Jake had spent dozens of hours wondering about the mission in Iraq. He’d never met the client, just the man who made the arrangements. That hadn’t bothered him. These rich guys usually had someone to do everything for them but wipe their ass. “Maybe.”

Brandi’s eyes narrowed further. “I think I know.”

The way she said it implied she knew something he didn’t, but he didn’t have the info she needed, and he didn’t have time for her games. But still . . . it couldn’t hurt to ask. “Why did he hire me?”

“First tell me where Nathan hid the Spear of Destiny.”

“Nathan’s keeping that a secret.”

“Then I’ll keep mine.”

A tingle crawled up his spine like a spider climbing an icy web, but he’d had so many warning tingles lately, he was becoming immune. That was a dangerous thing. Kendall might have her sixth sense, but his gut feelings had saved his ass many times.

“Just keep in mind that Raphael wants those relics protected even more than Nathan does. And he’s a bad dude.”

Brandi looked a little apprehensive. “I believe it after what happened in the temple. But I’m in this to the end.”

Jake sighed. “Let’s get this bag to Kendall.”

“You don’t like leaving her with Nathan. Does she know how bad you’ve got it for her?”

“Mind your own business.”

She smiled. “I don’t blame you. He’s obviously crazy about her, and he’s like the catch of the century, if you don’t count that freaky thing with his eyes. Don’t look so annoyed. You’ve got a lot going for you in the hot department too.”

“I’m touched.”

“Smart-ass.” She handed the bag to Jake and something fell out.

“What’s that?”

“Looks like a photo,” Brandi said, bending to pick it up. “It’s a woman.”

“Did Thomas have a girlfriend?”

“Are you kidding? He didn’t even take the time to eat properly. He didn’t have time for a girlfriend. I don’t know who she is.”

Jake looked over at the picture and felt the blood drain from his face.

He approached the grave slowly, feeling sicker the closer he got. Blond hair lay against the dirt. Finally he stood over the grave and looked at the woman’s face.

“Jake?” Brandi’s voice came from far away. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He had. He had seen the woman in a grave. How the hell could that be?

“The photo looks old. Look at her clothes. Late eighties maybe. Let’s put it with the notebook,” Brandi said. “Maybe it’s one of the Reaper’s contacts.”

Jake’s head was spinning as he followed Brandi downstairs. Kendall and Nathan were still in the room, standing close together, looking at a map. They looked so damned right together. They had the same interests. Nathan treated her with respect. He hadn’t hit on her like a moron in the beginning to keep her at a safe distance from his heart. Damned lot of good it’d done. She was firmly lodged there now.

Kendall turned and her smile pierced his heart. Then she frowned—her and her senses, not that they’d been up to par lately. He looked away because he didn’t want her to know his thoughts.

“We found a map,” Nathan said. “Prague. Same as the map in Marco’s room. The Reaper must be there.”

“If only the chalice was.”

“Maybe Kendall will pick up something from Thomas’s bag,” Nathan said.

“Oh, we found this in the bag. A picture of a woman.” Brandi showed them the image. “I know Thomas didn’t have a girlfriend. She must be connected to the Reaper. That’s all Thomas ever thought about.”

Kendall took the picture from Brandi. “I’ve seen her before.”

“This woman?” Brandi asked. “Where?”

“In Jake’s house.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “Jake’s house?”

“That’s impossible,” Jake said. “She’s dead.”

“How do you know?” Nathan asked. “Did you kill her?”

“No, but I saw her in a grave.”

“Was she one of the girls in Iraq?” Kendall asked.

“No. I saw her long before that. Not really saw her. It was more like a dream.”

“You’ve dreamed of her?”

“I’ve dreamed of her most of my life.”

“What was she doing in your house?” Nathan still looked suspicious. “She must be connected to the Reaper.”