The Lost Chalice (The Relic Seekers Book 3) by Anita Clenney Read Free Book Online

shoulder—a very nicely shaped leg—which made him remember the nickname Jake had first given her . . . Legs. He frowned, but the irritation didn’t last a moment, as he was distracted by her other leg settling over his left shoulder and her crotch pressed against his neck.
    He was feeling overheated, and not from exertion or his bloody curse. “Ready?” he asked, hoping to get this done before he did something stupid.
    “I suppose.”
    He stood, but Kendall was still a few feet from the ceiling. “I can’t touch it.”
    “Try standing. Can you manage that?”
    “I’ll try. Back up to the wall so I’ll have something to balance against. I don’t want to rip out your hair.” She ruffled his head. “It’s nice hair.”
    “My hair thanks you.” He put his back a few inches from the wall, enough for her to maneuver into a standing position. “Will that work?”
    “I think so.” Holding on to his head and using the wall for balance, she pulled one leg up at a time, until she was standing on his shoulders. “I can touch the ceiling,” she said. He balanced her weight while she checked the area for a catch or an opening. They slowly worked their way around the corner, wobbling as they searched, until it was apparent they were wasting their time. “I don’t see anything. I don’t think there’s a door.” She sighed. “Which means . . .”
    “It was a portal,” he finished.
    “I think so. That may explain why you were so affected by the fall.”
    “You ready to get down?”
    Without warning, she jerked, causing him to lose his balance. She teetered for a moment before slipping. Nathan grabbed her and they ended up on the floor again. “Kendall?”
    “I’m OK,” she wheezed.
    “What happened?” he asked, rolling off her.
    “Something hit me.”
    “A loose stone?”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “I don’t see anything,” he said, looking around them.
    “I think I’m sitting on it.” Kendall moved aside and saw a cross on a chain.
    Nathan picked it up. “Your cross? You must have lost it in the portal.”
    Kendall touched the cross under her shirt. “It’s not mine.”
    Nathan frowned and pulled his cross from under his shirt. “Not mine either. Then who does it belong to?”
    Kendall’s eyes widened with fear. “I think it’s Jake’s.”
    For a second Jake felt like he was on fire. He heard sizzling and smelled ozone again, and then he fell hard. For the second time in the past hour, he thought he might be dead. Then he caught his breath, and it hurt so much he knew he was alive. Unable to move, he lay there for a minute, trying to concentrate on the cool stones of the floor to get rid of the burning pain in his body. It didn’t work. Water. He needed more water from the fountain, but he didn’t know if he had drunk all the water in the vial or if it had even made it past the statues. He tried to move, but it came out as a twitch. After a minute, the pain eased enough that he pulled himself up and leaned against the wall. He’d done it. He’d passed the statues without a cross.
    His gaze fell on the vial lying near his feet. He picked it up and shook it. There was a little water. He needed it, but so did Raphael. At the moment, the guardian’s survival was more important to Kendall than Jake’s. Raphael had answers. Jake didn’t know what the hell was going on.
    He put one foot in front of the other and took a few lumbering steps. He wasn’t sure how he made it outside the mountain or down the long path to where he’d parked his car. Nathan’s was still there. Where were they? He caught a blurry glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror as he started his car. His hair was standing on end, and his skin had a slightly smoldered sheen as if he’d been cooked. He managed the drive back to the Abbey House without crashing, though he couldn’t see anything but large shapes. He saw one car, and quickly realized he was driving on the wrong side of the road. Swerving, he held