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

lowered his voice so that only the guardian could hear. “They’re helping, you know.” He didn’t blame Raphael for being pissed that the place was crawling with strangers after he and Marco had lived here in solitude for so long. The Protettori didn’t like strangers. They passed several guards as they approached the castle. Jake asked a couple of them if they’d heard from Nathan, and got a negative.
    After checking in with Hank, the head of security, and getting confirmation that he hadn’t heard from Nathan either, Jake brought him up to date. Hank agreed to send a group back to England to check the area again and to stay there in case Kendall and Nathan showed up.
    “Have you seen Marco?” Jake asked.
    “Not since he and Fergus got back,” Hank said. “Check the library. Marco spends a lot of time there.”
    They hurried toward the library and met Fergus on the way. He was dressed in his butler uniform, a charcoal suit and white shirt, but he looked more like a frightened father. “Any word from Kendall and Nathan?”
    Jake shook his head.
    “Where can they be? I’m terribly worried for them. Do you think the Reaper is involved?”
    “I don’t know. But we’ll find them,” Jake said with far more confidence than he felt.
    “Where’s Marco?” Raphael asked with a frown.
    Fergus’s shoulders stiffened with resolve. “Don’t be angry at him. Marco put you to sleep for your own good. You needed rest to recover from your injuries, as did Jake.”
    “Who left the sticky note on my forehead?” Jake asked.
    “That would be me. I wanted to make sure you knew where we were right away so you didn’t think we were missing as well.”
    “If you see Marco, tell him to find me,” Raphael said.
    Fergus nodded and then hurried off, saying there was a problem in the kitchen. The butler seemed to have already taken charge.
    Raphael led Jake to the room with the mural on the wall and the round table. Several days ago he, Kendall, and Nathan had found the room. “This is where we keep the water.” There were priceless objects all over the space.
    “What happened to the treasure under the chapel?” Jake asked. “How did you move it so quickly?”
    “That’s a secret.”
    “You have more secrets than Nathan. Sure you’re not brothers?”
    “Positive.” Raphael opened a cabinet and took out two vials. He handed one to Jake. “Drink it slowly. It’s very powerful.”
    Jake knew it was. It had kept him from dying. Twice. He held up his vial. “To health.”
    Raphael nodded. “To health. And destroying the Reaper.”
    And finding Kendall and Nathan.
    This water tasted different than ordinary water. It had a slight metallic taste, but there was something else. Kendall must be rubbing off on him, because he thought he felt a tingle as the water slid down his throat. He lowered the vial and concentrated on his body. He knew the water had kept him alive before, but now that he wasn’t in a life-and-death situation, he wanted to see if he could feel the water working. He didn’t understand it. The Fountain of Youth should be a myth, a story to tell to kids, a pipe dream for adventurers, but it was real.
    “I think that will do,” Raphael said. “How do you feel?”
    “Better. How does it work?”
    Raphael’s eyes were closed and when they opened, the amber color seemed alive. “I don’t know.”
    “Does anyone know anything about how this stuff works?” Jake motioned to the vial and the room where they stood. “Everything’s shrouded in mystery.”
    “True power is difficult to explain.”
    “You sound like the Dalai Lama.”
    Raphael closed his eyes again and stood still. He didn’t move for so long Jake started to worry. “You’re not turning into a statue or something, are you?”
    “Prague.”
    “What?”
    “Prague. I think that’s where I followed the Reaper.”
    “You’re certain?”
    “No.”
    Someone pounded on the door. Raphael hurried to open it. His movements were quicker