Kendall grabbed his arm for support. “It wasn’t an act.”
“That was real?”
She nodded and moved slowly toward the bed.
He helped her to the bed and took off her shoes. “Your feet are cold.”
“It was snowing.”
“Huh?”
“I was on the battlefield. It was snowing. There were horses and knights and swords.”
Jake lifted that sexy brow.
“I saw him. I saw King Arthur.”
The other brow rose.
“He said something to me.”
“He talked to you?” Jake’s surprised look turned a bit dubious. “Is this retaliation for the dead-presidents thing? I had to build up your reputation.”
“No, I’ll owe you for that. King Arthur rode his horse right up to me and looked into my eyes. He said something to me.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I was yanked back into my body.”
Jake stared at her. “How do you know it was King Arthur and not some other sword-toting knight on horseback in the middle of a battlefield?”
“I felt him. I know it was him.”
“Damn. Has this happened before?”
“A few times, but more like what you saw when I touched Raphael. Like a vision. This time it felt like I was there. You didn’t see anything?” He had been holding her hand.
“No. You flew backward like you’d been checked by a hockey player and lay there with your eyes open. At first I thought you’d hit your head on a rock and died.”
“Then you wouldn’t have to work with a skirt anymore.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a dumb-assed thing to say. You know how I feel about you.”
Did she?
“So when Marco said to find Arthur, he meant the Arthur,” Jake said.
“It would seem so. He mentions Arthur, and then we end up here, where Arthur supposedly lived.”
“And now you’ve had a vision of Arthur. What did he look like?”
That was an odd question to ask. “He’s hard to describe. He reminded me of Nathan in knight garb.”
Her answer seemed to trouble him. “We need to know what King Arthur said. Hell, I can’t even believe I’m saying that.”
She almost felt sorry for Jake. He had gone from being a complete skeptic to facing ghosts and things that even made her jaw drop in shock. “I can’t just summon him. I didn’t summon him this time.”
“That’s what those mediums on TV do. You’re more real than they are.”
“That’s not the kind of gift I have.”
He rolled his eyes. “I need a damned course in your gift.”
“I think this is happening because of the place. It’s strange here, just like the castle.”
“Considering that we traveled from one to the other in a way that defies physics, then I’d say they’re definitely connected. We need Marco. If we can unravel that tangled mess in his head, maybe he can explain this King Arthur connection.”
“We should call Fergus and see if we can talk to Marco.”
“I called Fergus’s cell phone earlier,” Jake said. “No one answered.”
“There has to be a connection since he mentioned both Arthur and the Fountain of Youth,” Kendall said.
“We don’t even know what the Fountain of Youth is,” Jake said. “It could be a well or a chalice or neither. The fountain in the Chalice Well Gardens can’t be the real Fountain of Youth, or thousands of people would be eternally young. Hell, we don’t even know if the fountain is the relic we need. Marco’s not all there sometimes.”
“His mind seemed clear,” Kendall said.
“We need to ask Arthur what the hell he was saying.”
“The group is planning to visit several King Arthur sites… Camelot, Tintagel, and Merlin’s cave.”
“Merlin… I’ve been thinking all this time that Marco reminds me of Moses. Maybe I’ve had the wrong white-haired guy.”
Kendall had been thinking the same thing. She would have thought that was insane before now, but the bizarre was looking more and more credible. She rubbed her head. She did feel as if she’d smacked it on something hard.
“Let me see,” Jake said. “Looks like you bumped it. You scared me. You sure you didn’t get a concussion or something?”
“I’m fine, just drained from the vision. I get so tired of this.”
“It has to be tiring having these… things… these visions mixing with reality.”
“You have no idea.”
“Can I get you anything? Water?”
“Rest. Thank you.”
He pulled the covers over her.
“Where are you going?”
“To brush my teeth. Why? You want me to stay?”
“I was afraid you were going to steal the chalice.”
He brushed back her hair. “Not yet. Sure I can’t get you anything?”
“No thanks. But I would be eternally grateful if you would give the group an update for me. I know they’re dying to know what happened. Tell them I’ll let them know after I’ve rested.”
“How grateful?”
“I won’t kill you if you snore.”
He chuckled and leaned closer, not touching her, but so near she could almost feel his skin. She expected him to go for something Jake-ish, but he just kissed her head. “I’ll be back.”
After he left, Kendall touched the spot on her forehead that still felt warm. She fell asleep with her fingers touching his kiss. And she dreamed not of Adam as she so often did, but of Jake and her and King Arthur.
She was in another time, another woman’s body. Her heart beat quickly as she ran to where he was waiting behind the crofter’s cottage. No one went there because the small stand of woods was said to be enchanted. She glanced back at the castle and saw a shadow disturb the light from the lantern in their bedchamber. He had returned early from the meeting with his knights. Feelings of guilt almost caused her to turn and run back to him. He would be looking for her as soon as he had bathed. She hurried on, planning to tell her lover that she could not stay. They must put an end to this madness, this betrayal. But when she saw him standing there, eyes dark with passion, her heart melted and resolve fled. She went to him, let him unlace her gown, let his lips touch her neck and, as her gown dropped, her breasts.
He made love to her with passion, leaving her heart and loins sated. “I love you,” she said.
“And I you, my queen,” he said, lips grazing her skin.
Jake stood at the back of the house, studying the window of the Upper Room. He’d told Kendall he wouldn’t steal the chalice. He hadn’t said he wouldn’t try to find it. But it wasn’t easy with so many people in the house. The chalice must be in the Upper Room or in the locked room at the end of the hall, where he’d heard a man’s voice. He knew where everyone in the house was staying. He’d checked the rooms out earlier while everyone was eating dinner. Sandy and Alice were sharing a room. The odd couple, they were complete opposites. Alice, interestingly enough, was messy; Sandy, neat and tidy. Rhonda had her own room with stacks of romance novels and two bottles of wine. Halle was all business with her laptop and travel guides. She was breaking the rules. There weren’t supposed to be any electronic devices used on the premises. Larry’s room was filled with books on every subject from enlightenment to outer space.
Jake went back inside. Later tonight when everyone was asleep, he would search the two rooms.
Halle was still up, moving around the kitchen, her face flushed.
“Everything OK?” Jake asked.
“Jake, I didn’t see you go out.”
“Just getting some fresh air. I have a headache.” He’d given the group a brief update on Kendall’s vision but didn’t answer too many questions since he was more concerned with finding out which room the Blue Chalice was kept in. He didn’t want to wait until the caretaker returned.