King's Crusade (Seventeen) (28 page)

She hesitated for a brief moment before unclasping the necklace and dropping it in his hand.

They all watched silently while the Harvard professor examined the sparkling relic in his palm. Alexa heard his breath catch in his throat.

‘Do you know how old this is?’ he asked, his eyes focused on the complex motif engraved in the gold.

Alexa was probably the only one who detected the slight tremor in his voice. She stared at the pendant, a flash of intuition darting through her mind.

Anna shook her head, her dark locks swinging around her face. ‘I’m not certain, but I suspect probably fifteen centuries or so,’ she said hesitantly. ‘It belonged to my father. I believe it has been passed down through the generations in his family.’

Reznak gazed at Jackson with a guarded expression. ‘What is it?’

The Harvard professor looked at him blindly. ‘This pendant is at least 4,000 years old,’ he said hoarsely.

The shock that coursed through the group was almost palpable.

‘Are you sure?’ gasped Anna.

Jackson nodded. ‘There are symbols on here that stem from the original Sumerian language,’ he said in a stronger, more confident voice. ‘Although it would be impossible to prove without physically seeing it, I suspect the pendant stolen from Yonten’s monastery is also from that period of history. But I don’t think the two artifacts are identical,’ he added, cocking his head at the image on the computer monitor. ‘There are subtle differences, even from examining the picture.’ He stared thoughtfully at the relic in his hand. ‘I would have to analyze this in an archaeological lab to be certain.’

Reznak’s gaze shifted briefly to Anna Godard. ‘I don’t think that would be possible—’ he started to say.

‘Wait, Dimitri,’ said Anna quietly. She turned and looked questioningly at Soul.

The immortal feared by so many others stepped forward and entwined his fingers with hers. ‘I’m happy with whatever you decide,’ he murmured.

‘It’s as much your legacy as it is mine,’ said Anna softly.

Soul smiled at the woman in front of him, making Alexa realize once more how staggeringly attractive he was. ‘Will the pendant help you find and stop this sect?’ he asked bluntly, his gaze switching to the Harvard professor.

‘Yes, I believe so,’ Jackson replied with a firm nod.

‘Then I agree with Anna’s decision,’ said Soul. ‘We will leave the pendant in your care.’

‘Are you sure?’ said Reznak incredulously, staring at the two immortals. ‘That pendant is a priceless family heirloom.’

Soul shrugged. ‘Whatever is going on here sounds pretty serious. All we ask is that you keep it safe.’ His eyes met Alexa’s for a fraction of a second, and she knew beyond a doubt that his request had been directed at her.

The couple dismissed Reznak’s profusely expressed gratitude with quiet smiles and bade their goodbyes. Soul paused by the door of the vintage car. ‘Dimitri?’ he called out.

‘Yes?’ said Reznak.

‘Give us a call if you need a hand,’ said Soul. He dipped his head at Alexa and Jackson, and flashed a brief grin at Yonten. ‘Say hello to the Abbot for me.’

The monk bowed solemnly as the immortal climbed inside the roadster. A second later, the Jaguar spun round and bolted down the tarmac.

‘He’s as crazy behind the wheel as you are,’ said Jackson.

Alexa stared until the vehicle disappeared in the shadows beneath the trees. It was dawning on her that she had more in common with Lucas Soul than she would care to admit.

Chapter Twenty-Two

T
hey were airborne minutes later,
headed east into Europe. Schmidt stayed back in Paris at the request of the Order of the Hunters; he had been assigned another mission by the First Council.

Carrington kept Fawkes company in the cockpit for most of the flight. Reznak and Jackson sat at one of the tables and engaged in an animated discussion about the pendant and the Emerald Tablet.

Alexa stared at the sea of clouds drifting outside the aircraft through the porthole next to her seat. Her fingers absentmindedly drummed a beat on the arm support as she puzzled over the flash of jealousy that had shot through her in Soul’s presence.

She had always thought herself reasonably content with her existence over the last three hundred years. Her missions for the First Council fulfilled some of her hunger for the excitement that came with a hunt, and she engaged in enough adrenaline-filled outdoor and competitive combat sports on the side to temper her craving for danger. She was also wealthy enough to live in luxury for another ten mortal lifetimes and never lacked for willing partners to satisfy her physical needs.

Yet she had never realized there was something missing from her life until she saw the expression in Soul’s eyes.

Alexa had not detected any bitterness or animosity in his gaze, feelings that should righteously be his after the centuries of torment he had suffered at the hands of the two immortal societies. She was only dimly aware of his history, but ever since she started to walk the halls of the Councils, she had heard of his deaths at the hands of the Hunters. The savage excitement that coursed through the higher echelons of Crovir society at having bested the dangerous immortal was evident for days after the deed.

She knew of the concept of immortal soulmates. Very much like human soulmates, they were individuals who were destined by fate to spend their many lives together. It took some several lifetimes to find their other halves, and not every immortal was successful in the task.

She had not been curious about the notion or even considered it with regard to her own self until she saw the two immortals today.

There was no doubt in her mind that they completed each other perfectly, not just physically and emotionally, but on a higher, supernatural level. The combined strength afforded by their union was subtlety evident in the way they stood, moved, and even spoke. Although Alexa sensed that they were individually very powerful, together they seemed invincible.

Her gaze shifted to Jackson. Desire coiled inside her almost instantly. The fact that they were physically compatible was undeniable, yet she sensed there was more to her passion for the man than mere lust.

Yonten opened his eyes and gazed at her silently from the other side of the cabin. Alexa frowned faintly at his expression. She had the uncanny suspicion the monk could read her mind.

Less than two hours after it left Paris, the jet landed in the middle of a blizzard at a former military airport outside the city of Ceske Budejovice, in the South Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. Two black Mercedes four-by-fours sat waiting on the edge of the tarmac where the jet rolled to a stop. The vehicles’ roofs were already buried under a three-inch-thick blanket of snow. A pair of hard-faced, silent drivers bundled in thick winter coats stood impassively next to the cars.

Jackson winced at the icy rain and sleet that pelted his face when he stepped off the plane. Yonten skipped down the steps past him, bare arms exposed to the harsh winter conditions. Jackson stared at the monk.

A smile dawned on Reznak’s face at the Harvard professor’s expression. ‘It can get pretty cold in northern Tibet,’ said the Crovir noble.

‘I know that,’ said Jackson darkly. ‘Still, I get the feeling the yak milk may have gotten to his brain.’

Alexa climbed into the welcoming warmth of the first vehicle behind Jackson, Yonten, and Reznak. Fawkes joined Carrington and the two bodyguards in the second vehicle, and the convoy rapidly got under way.

‘Where are we going?’ asked Jackson. He stared curiously out of the window.

‘To my estate,’ replied Reznak.

‘I thought we were heading for your lab,’ said Jackson, raising his eyebrows.

‘It’s on the grounds of the property.’

Alexa gazed silently at the snow-covered fields that stretched out to the low hills undulating across the horizon. The occasional bare tree punctuated the barren landscape, dark branches rising starkly against the white backdrop.

Frozen streams and abandoned logging mills dotted the sparsely populated countryside as the four-by-fours headed toward the mountainous ridge soaring to the west. The gradient grew steeper, and ice-covered snow patches appeared on the freeway. The vehicles’ snow tires gripped the frosty asphalt securely as they negotiated the tortuous roads that wound through the foothills of the looming peaks. Spruce and pine trees loomed out of the gray vista, their boughs heavy with the fresh snowfall. They drove through tunnels of towering trunks, the rays of the sun filtered to an eerie twilight by the branches above them.

A solid line of trees soon appeared in the distance, a dark smudge that lay across the entire skyline. An hour after leaving the airport, they entered the Bohemian Forest and headed deep into the Sumava National Park.

Situated in the same named mountain range, the park was part of the largest preserved forested area in Central Europe, extending west across the border into the Bavarian Forest in Germany, and south into Austria. It was the last remaining wild heart of Europe and encompassed almost three hundred square miles of forests, glacial lakes, peat bogs, wetlands, and flower meadows. It was also home to some of the last remaining populations of lynxes, grouses, European elks, and Ural owls on the continent, which made it a fiercely contested topic for debate between the conservationists, who wanted to preserve the natural habitat of the forest, and the logging industry, who wanted to fell its trees.

Much had changed in the three hundred and ten years since she first laid eyes on the forest. Memories of the years she had spent exploring the wilderness around Reznak’s estate flooded Alexa’s mind as she studied the hauntingly beautiful landscape outside the window.

She recalled rustling leaves in hundred-year-old fir trees, wild otters fishing for salmon in rivers, raindrops falling silently on still water, and the shelter afforded by the abandoned gold and silver mines that dotted the mountains on the occasions when she got caught out in bad weather. She had hunted game with the lynxes, killed her first deer at the age of twelve, and run with the last wild wolves that had inhabited the forest. Though she would most likely never recall the first eight or so years of her life, Alexa was grateful to Reznak for having provided her with an unparalleled second childhood.

The rutted forest track finally ended in front of a set of imposing, black, wrought iron gates. The driver of their four-by-four glanced at the security cameras atop the eighteen-foot stone pillars framing the impenetrable gateway. Seconds later, the doors swung open on arm-thick hinges. He guided the vehicle onto the wide, graveled, stone-lined driveway beyond. The gates closed ponderously once the second four-by-four was through.

The trees thinned out on either side of the drive and the shadows under the canopy grew lighter. Jackson leaned eagerly forward in his seat. The outlook suddenly opened out after a thousand feet. Alexa heard him draw in a sharp breath.

Reznak’s estate was set in twelve thousand acres of Bohemian Forest. Although an impressive three-mile wall extended along parts of its eastern and southern borders, the rest of the property was opened to the wild. Only discrete signs posted at regular intervals indicated that the land was privately owned. Strategically positioned surveillance cameras around the perimeter ensured a degree of privacy from intruders and helped the team of park rangers and guards employed by her godfather oversee the protection of the extensive natural habitat and the lab within the grounds.

He had been in possession of the land since before the forest acquired its current name of Sumava.

The driveway carved through a thirty-hectare park and exquisitely maintained, formal, French-style gardens to an imposing, three-winged, baroque chateau at the opposite end. The gray clouds and approaching storm dulled the normally warm colors of the cream limestone walls and red, chimney-studded, mansard roofs. Soft lights glittered behind the leaded glass windows that lined the elegant facade.

They passed several ornamental ponds and fountains before pulling to a stop in a large courtyard framed by the secondary wings of the castle.

‘
This
is your home?’ uttered Jackson incredulously.

‘It used to be,’ said Alexa with a shrug. ‘I haven’t lived here for some time.’

They exited the vehicles and climbed the split-level terrace to a wide portico. The taciturn drivers drove the four-by-fours toward the extensive garages at the side of the property, Reznak’s bodyguards in tow.

A pair of thick oak doors embellished with a simple pattern of wrought iron guarded the entrance to the castle. One of them opened to reveal a thin, middle-aged woman with a shock of silver-blonde hair. Fawkes leaned down to kiss her cheek.

‘Marie,’ he said gently, affection warming his voice.

She smiled and kissed him back before greeting Reznak and Carrington. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw Alexa. ‘It’s good to see you again, child,’ she said huskily, engulfing her in a warm embrace.

Alexa wrapped her arms around the frail, older woman and inhaled the familiar aroma of baking spices drifting from her hair and clothes. ‘It’s good to see you too, Marie,’ she murmured, her smile hidden in the soft blonde curls.

Marie Fawkes was the closest thing to a mother she had ever had. When Fawkes retired from the Order of Hunters and came to work for Reznak, she joined her husband and took over the role of housekeeper for the estate. Both Marie and her husband were survivors of the deadly plague that decimated the immortal races in the fourteenth century and left the majority of survivors infertile. As a result, the couple had no children. The disease had also left Marie in poor health for a long time, and she remained somewhat delicate to this day. When Reznak brought Alexa to his home after the Battle of Narva, the pair doted on her as if she were their own flesh and blood.