“Guess we found a booby trap,” Jake said. He aimed his light around the space.
“We fell for a good ten seconds. The impact should have killed us.”
“What impact?” Jake asked. “I didn’t feel anything except this sensation of coming apart. Maybe we’re trapped in one of Kendall’s visions. They feel kind of like this.”
“How do you know what her visions are like?” Nathan asked.
“I shared one with her. Not something I’ll forget.”
“What were you doing?” Nathan asked.
“Not what you think.” It took them both a minute to get oriented. Then they examined the dark space.
“We’re underground,” Nathan said. “We must be underneath the maze. Looks like a cave.”
“Where’d we fall from?” Jake asked, looking at the ceiling above them. “I don’t see any holes or doors.”
“Look at these markings on the walls.”
“Circles, of course. The Protettori love those damned circles.” They checked the area thoroughly but couldn’t find any sign of where they’d fallen from.
“If it’s a hidden door, they’ve hidden it well,” Nathan said.
Jake aimed his light farther into the cave. “We’ll have to find another way out. I guess we’d better start walking.”
The cave was large in places, smaller in others, but the floor wasn’t uneven as might be expected. It was smooth, as if it had been leveled.
“When did you share one of Kendall’s visions?” Nathan asked after a few minutes.
“At the castle. She touched Raphael’s body to see if she could sense anything, and I was touching her.”
“What did you see?”
“Warriors, swords, shields. I think Marco’s right about Raphael. He’s not as young as he looks. You had a lot of balls to take him prisoner. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to keep him locked up in my dungeon. But then I can’t do the glowing eyes thing.”
“Stop calling it a damned dungeon,” Nathan said. “I didn’t have a choice. I need answers. Raphael has them.”
“You want to know why he’s not dead. I’d like to know myself, because he was dead as sure as I’m alive.”
“I took him because we need the relics. Raphael must know where they are. Marco’s memory isn’t reliable.”
“You need the relics. What you haven’t explained is why you’re so desperate to find them. And it’s not to add to your collection, or even to protect them from the Reaper. You want them for another reason.” Jake grabbed his shoulder. “What’d you do that for?”
“Do what?”
“You poked my shoulder.”
“Not me,” Nathan said. “Must have been a rock falling or bat droppings.”
“What does a billionaire know about bat shit?” Jake asked.
“I could write a book on the stuff.” Nathan grew quiet, as if his words had surprised him. They walked for a few minutes without talking. “What was that?” Nathan asked, sounding irritated.
“What was what?”
“You hit me.”
“Wasn’t me,” Jake said. “If I had hit you, you wouldn’t be standing.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Bat shit? Speaking of hitting, what were you and Fergus fighting about at the mansion?”
“What do you mean?” Nathan asked.
“Fergus looked like he wanted to hit you when Kendall and I got there.”
“He was afraid I was trying to wake Marco. You’d think Marco was his father. They’re both acting weird.”
“Marco must be rubbing off on him,” Jake said.
“They’re up to something. They’re always whispering like they’re conspiring. It’s starting to piss me off.”
“Sucks to be out of the loop, doesn’t it?” Jake said.
“Shut up and look for Kendall. She could have fallen down this hole too.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” The farther they went in the cave, the more tired Jake felt, and more anxious. “I don’t like this cave.”
Nathan flashed his light behind them and into the encroaching darkness. “You get the feeling we’re not alone?”
He hadn’t wanted to mention it, thinking it might be his foggy brain. “Yeah. I was hoping it was your lousy company. Probably trolls or giants with one eye.” The Fountain of Youth wasn’t looking as farfetched now.
“I hear something,” Nathan said.
Jake listened, and then he heard a faint humming sound. “That’s what the statues sound like. We must be under them.”
Nathan touched his head. “Hell, I feel like shit. Maybe it’s the statues. You walked past them. Did they make you feel strange?”
“Yes, but not like this. I feel like I could sleep standing up. It almost feels like there’s not enough oxygen.” Maybe that explained the prickle crawling up Jake’s back. But he didn’t think so.
Nathan stopped, head tilted. Shadows from the flashlight made him look frightening. He sniffed the air. “I smell blood.”
“Blood?” Jake’s heart thudded.
“It’s Kendall.”
Jake was thinking about what Raphael might do when he found Kendall, when they heard the scream. Jake saw the change happen. Nathan’s body jerked as if he’d been hit in the stomach. When he straightened, he looked bigger. Jake didn’t need to see Nathan’s eyes to know they had changed to amber. Nathan took off running with Jake on his heels.
Jake knew from experience that he couldn’t keep up, but that didn’t stop him from trying. In seconds, Nathan moved ahead. Jake was starting to believe Kendall might be right about otherworldly creatures. Whatever was happening to Nathan didn’t feel like an experiment in a lab. Jake’s flashlight showed something pale against the blackness of the cave. Clothing. Blond hair. Kendall!
A black shadow hovered over her. It appeared shapeless, just a black mass, but when they got closer, it vanished. Nathan reached her first. When Jake got there, Nathan was checking her pulse.
“She’s alive, but unconscious.”
Jake knelt beside him. “What the hell was that shadow?”
“I don’t know, but we have to get her out of here. Kendall, can you hear me?”
“I’ll carry her,” Jake said.
“I’ll do it. I’m stronger.”
“Only in Hulk mode. I’ll take her first. You watch out for whatever that black thing was. I have a feeling your talents might be more suited for fighting it.”
Jake picked Kendall up in his arms. Her head fell against his chest. “We’ll have to keep going ahead.” Jake carried her while Nathan kept watch. He was feeling so weak, he was about to see if Nathan wanted to switch, when Kendall roused in his arms. “She’s waking up.” He stopped and sat down, cradling her on his lap. Nathan bent down in front of them and brushed back her hair.
Kendall woke up with a yell and punched Nathan in the stomach. He grunted and Kendall leapt to her feet. Jake jumped up and grabbed her. “Kendall, it’s us. Jake and Nathan.”
“Jake? Nathan?” She glanced at Nathan, hunched over, trying to get his breath. “Oh my God.” She hurried back to him. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were… What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you?” Jake said, since Nathan was still wheezing.
Nathan rubbed his stomach. “Bloody hell. You hit hard.”
“I’m so sorry. There was something hovering over me.”
“We saw it. It vanished when we got close. One of your ghosts?” Jake asked.
“I think it was something else.”
“What?” Jake asked. “Fairies, dragons?”
“I don’t know, but it was powerful.”
“Did it hurt you?” Nathan asked. His eyes flared but didn’t start glowing.
“I don’t think so. I blacked out, so I’m not sure. My head feels strange.” Like a sponge that had been squeezed dry.
“You’re bleeding,” Nathan said, shining his light on her wrist.