“We were inside a mountain,” Nathan said.
“Clever,” Kendall said. The stone door was covered by grass, disguising it from sight. She looked down the hill at the lights from a nearby town. “I don’t remember there being a town near the castle.”
Jake was already looking toward the town. “There isn’t.”
“How bloody far did we walk?” Nathan asked.
“Farther than we thought.” Jake looked up the hill. “There’s something up there.”
“Looks like a tower,” Nathan said.
“I don’t remember that either,” Kendall said. Nothing about this place looked right. “I don’t think we’re near the castle. We would have seen a tower that high.”
Jake looked up at the night sky. “Castle? Hell, this doesn’t even look like Italy.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
WE MUST BE in Italy,” Kendall said. “Where else could we be?”
“Let’s go higher so we can get a better view.” Jake led the way up the steep incline. His flashlight died before they reached the top of the hill. He cursed and banged on it, but it was dead. When they reached the tower, they discovered that it was a lot taller than it had looked from below, but in the dark it was impossible to tell much more about it.
“Touch it,” Jake said. “See if you can figure out where we are.”
Kendall put her hands on one wall and closed her eyes, letting the sensations flow from the structure into her hands. Power, voices—chanting, prayers, battle cries—a fortress and ships.
“Getting anything?” Nathan asked.
“This structure is old. Many people have passed through here. Praying, fighting. And I saw ships.”
“There’s no ocean near the castle,” Jake said. “You think this is one of those visions like when you touched Raphael?”
“I don’t think so,” she said.
“We can’t figure it out tonight,” Nathan said. “It’s too dangerous to explore in the dark.”
Jake agreed. “If this place is near the castle, we might end up impaled on spikes at the bottom of a pit.”
“This is a good place to rest until morning,” Nathan said. “We didn’t sleep much in the cave, and we probably have a long hike ahead of us.”
They found a stone ledge built against the wall, and Kendall sat. She didn’t feel as weak now, but she still felt tired and chilled. It wasn’t as cold out here as it was in the cave, but it wasn’t warm, and she was dressed for bed, not camping. She shivered.
“Are you cold?” Nathan asked.
“Chilly.”
He sat next to her, scooting close so that his shoulder touched hers. Jake sat on the other side, and immediately she felt warmth surrounding her. She stared at the stars and the lights of the mysterious town below as she listened to Nathan and Jake speculating about where they might be and arguing over logic and impossibilities. She closed her eyes and listened to their voices, searching for a hint of Adam. In spite of the situation, she felt a sense of contentment as she fell asleep.
Something hit Nathan on the arm, waking him. He squinted against the daylight, which was surprising after hours in a dark cave. He’d planned to start exploring at dawn, but underneath the tower, it was still shaded from the sun. Jake and Kendall were still sleeping too. Kendall’s hand was clasped in Nathan’s. He felt like gloating until he saw her head was on Jake’s shoulder.
Nathan didn’t feel as rested as he’d hoped. He had discovered that extra sleep helped him ward off the change. Ward off. Made it sound like he was turning into a bloody werewolf. Hell, maybe he was.
A rock hit Jake on the head and fell near his feet. “Damned ghosts,” he muttered, waking up. “They must have followed us out of the cave.” He looked around and frowned. “We overslept.”
Nathan heard a chuckle. He turned and saw a chubby little boy standing several feet away. He had red hair and a face full of freckles, and he wore medieval clothing. Maybe the question wasn’t where they were, but when.
“I can see this one,” Jake said. “He’s been eating too much.”
The boy’s face screwed up. He opened his mouth and yelled, “Mother, he called me fat.”
A woman appeared at the back opening of the tower. She had the same red hair and freckles and wore a flowing gown. “Some people just don’t have manners. Really. Come along, Art. The garden will be opening soon.” She took the boy’s arm and pulled him away. He turned back and stuck out his tongue.
“That wasn’t a ghost, was it?” Jake said.
“No,” Kendall said.
“That’s good news,” Jake said. “At least we’re still alive.”
“You thought we were dead?” Kendall asked.
“I wondered,” he said.
“If it weren’t for the New England accents, I would wonder if we’re in the right time,” Kendall said. “When you fell through the maze, did you feel… weird, as if your body had come apart?”
“Pretty much,” Nathan said.
“I think we found some kind of…” She shrugged. “I don’t know what to call it.”
“Are you trying to say we fell through a portal?” Jake asked.
“There aren’t any towns near the castle,” she said. “And this place obviously isn’t Italy.”
Jake scratched his head. “Portals are Star Trek shit, and that’s impossible.”
“You thought ghosts didn’t exist a few days ago,” Nathan said. “And centuries-old guardians from a secret order, and stone statues that once breathed. I think we’re still in modern times.”
A man walked past the tower. He too wore some kind of ancient robe.
“Excuse me, where we are?” Nathan asked him.
“What year is this?” Jake added.
The man’s bushy brows rose in alarm and he hurried away.
Kendall turned and looked at the wall behind the ledge where they had slept. “Oh my.”
“What’s wrong?” Jake turned to look.
She pointed to the sign on a plaque above them: SAINT MICHAEL’S TOWER.
“Bloody hell,” Nathan said. “We’re in England.”
“We can’t be in England,” Jake said.
“Saint Michael’s Tower is in Glastonbury, England,” Nathan said.
“How the hell did we get from Italy to England?” Jake asked.
“This is Glastonbury Tor.” Kendall’s eyes lit. “This is starting to make sense.”
“Not to me,” Jake said.
“Do you know what’s in Glastonbury?” she asked.
Jake looked at the tower. “Saint Michael’s Tower?”
“The Chalice Well,” Nathan said.
“What’s the Chalice Well?” Jake asked.
“An ancient well,” Kendall said. “A sacred well.”
“You’re saying the Fountain of Youth is here?” Jake asked.
“Legend says the Chalice Well sprang up after a chalice holding the blood of Christ was buried here by Joseph of Arimathea. He was the man who gave his tomb for Jesus’s burial. A fountain flows from the well, and people come from all over the world to drink from its waters, which are supposed to have the power to heal.”
“How do you know so much about it?” Jake asked.
“Because I was going to bring Kendall here to see what she thought about the well.” Nathan didn’t trust psychics other than Kendall, if that was what she even was. “That was just before I found out about the Spear of Destiny.” And that had taken precedence over everything.
Kendall smiled. “And the chalice that Joseph buried wasn’t just any old chalice. It was the Holy Grail.”
Jake looked surprised. “So the Fountain of Youth could have come from the Holy Grail? Damn.”
Nathan felt a stir of excitement. Could he be getting close to the cure?
“There’s no way the Fountain of Youth is gonna be out there for the whole world to see,” Jake said. “Are you forgetting the booby traps and statues that protected the Spear of Destiny?”