Shadow Cave (41 page)

“
Thanks.
”
He climbed to his feet and extended his hand to me.

“
We still have a lot to talk about, but what do you say we get home first?
”

“
I thought you would never ask.
”

It was after midnight when we crept up the walkway to the house.
Mark kept a hold of my hand even as we entered the kitchen and it never occurred to me to pull away.

“
Are you hungry?
”
he
whispered.

“
Starving.
What about you?
”

“
The same.
Go on upstairs and take a shower if you still want one.
I will make us something to eat.
”

“
What about you?
”

“
I
’
ll clean up in the bathroom down here.
”

“
Ok
ay
, thanks.
”
I turned to go up the stairs.

“
Claire.
”
He tugged on my sleeve and kissed me thoroughly.

“
Wow.
”

“
Meet me in the library.
”

Mark was waiting in the library with food and coffee, as promised.
I settled into a well-padded chair across from him and practically devoured the plate of pizza he handed me.

“
Better?
”

“
Much.
”
I smiled thankfully.

“
Come sit with me?
”
He moved to a couch that rested in front of a tall shelf of books.

“
Sure.
”
I curled up next to him and closed my eyes, feeling sleepy for the first time since that morning.

“
What are we going to do?
”

“
Right now?
”

“
About Kahn.
And Michael.
”

My eyes popped open.
I cleared my throat.
“
We?
You want to help me find Mike?
”

“
We are in this together.
”

“
Are we?
”

He pressed a kiss to my hair and I noticed for the first time that the room was growing incredibly warm.

“
I would like for us to be.
”

“
To be what?
”

“
In this thing together.
”

“
I
...
.
”
I pressed my lips together.
I had no idea how to respond to that.

“
Do you have any more notes?
”

“
Yes
,
”
I replied automatically.

“
Get them?
”

“
Sure.
They
’
re upstairs.
”

“
I
’
ll wait.
”

All thoughts of sleep were quickly forgotten as I darted up the stairs to retrieve the rest of the documents.
The thought of joining forces with
Mark
jumbled my nerves for more than one reason.
But no matter how conflicted I was about the latest turn of events, instinct told me that I could trust him.

“
Here is everything that I
’
ve got.
The green gem is called a seeing stone.
The woman in town thinks that it
’
s a summons.
”
I took a seat next to him on the floor.
“
I am not sure how it works though.
Not yet
,
at least.
”

We spread everything out on the carpet around us and rested our backs on the base of the couch.
Mark grabbed an armful of books and spread those around us as well. We worked until four in the morning before we found what we were looking for.

“
Claire.
I found something about the seeing stones.
”

I set my research to the side and rubbed my eyes.
“
Anything good?
”

“
I think so.
It says that to answer the summons, the stone must be returned to the same place it was taken from.
”

“
The meadow.
”

“
Exactly.
”
He shook his head in frustration.
“
But I can
’
t find anything on the meadow.
Are you sure the sign said
‘
Triniti Supply
’
?
”

“
Yes, and the numbers on the bell were 1784.
There
’
s nothing yet?
”

“
No, but don
’
t worry.
We will find it.
”

“
I know.
”

“
Are you sure that Kahn will lead you to your brother?
”

“
I think so.
I think that he went to challenge him.
”

Mark frowned thoughtfully for a full minute before he turned to me.

“
I don
’
t think so.
”

“
Why not?
”

“
Your brother does not sound like a stupid man.
”

I chewed on that for a while, mulling over the implications.
“
No, he is not stupid.
I have been wracking my brain from day one, and I still can
’
t figure out what he thought he was doing by coming here.
The best I can figure is adventure.
This is a hell of a discovery, I will grant him that.
”

“
Is there any other reason that you can think of to explain why he would have come here?
”

“
I can
’
t say for sure, but I think he may have thought it was fate.
”

“
The game you used to play when you were kids, right?
You mean the one about the shape shifter that he mentioned in the notebook?
”

I nodded.
“
That would be the one, yes. It must be coincidence though. Come on, that
’
s crazy, right?
”

“
Maybe.
”

“
Well, that is something only he can answer.
My main concern is where the hell he is right now.
The only thing that I can figure is to go to Kahn.
He wants my half of the key, I know he does.
”

“
If Khan had Michael
’
s…
.
”

The grim expression on Marks face spoke volumes.

“
No, he would not kill him
...not
yet anyway.
He
’
s using him to get me to come to him.
How else can you explain my seeing Michael in that meadow, the first time?
Miranda thinks that it was really Kahn taking his form
,
and I think that she may be right.
”

“
So do I.
So we find the meadow.
”

“
Right.
”
I reached for another map before
Mark
placed his hand on top of mine.

“
In the morning.
Right now, we need sleep.
”

“
True.
We might miss something trying to do this right now.
”

“
So…bed?
”
His eyes held mine, warm and steady.
I knew what he was asking.
I took his hand anyway.

“
Yes.
”

The Path of the Doomed

“
Claire.
”

His voice broke through my subconscious in waves.

“
Mmm?
”

“
It
’
s time to wake up, honey.
”
I yawned and sat up, pushing the hair from my face.
“
What time is it?
”

“
It
’
s
one
in the afternoon.
”
He kissed my bare shoulder and I shivered.

“
Then why am I still tired?
”

He laughed and tugged on a lock of my hair before rising.
“
You still want to look for that meadow today?
”

“
You bet.
”

“
Good.
Meet me downstairs.
I
’
ve got a plan.
”

“
Fifteen minutes?
”

“
Fine.
”

I showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a midnight blue top that tied around the neck.
I skipped the make up for time
’
s sake, though I was sorely tempted to put a little on
.
Everything seemed to be happening so fast that I was left feeling off balance.
Of course, that
’
s
not necessarily a bad thing
, I reflected as I strapped a pair of heeled sandals onto my feet.
When I had gone upstairs with Mark the night before, I
’
d had no clue what the morning would bring.
But a part of me had expected to feel regret in the light of day.
The reality was
I felt none.
I would not have taken back my time with Mark.
I was certain of that.
But it had thrown an entirely new set of questions into the mix.
For me.

For us.
I was suddenly seeing hopes and dreams before me that had never existed before.
I did not want to leave him, but I knew that the day would come when I would be forced to do just that.

“
Claire?
Are you ok
ay
?
”
Mark called from the foot of the stairs.

I cleared my throat and pushed thoughts of our parting from my head.
I would deal with it when the time came, I decided.

“
Yes, I
’
m coming down now
,
”
I called to him.

“
No hurry.
It just got quiet all of a sudden.
Wow.
You look beautiful.
”
He kissed me and spun me around as soon as my foot touched the bottom stair.

I laughed with him.
It was impossible not to.

“
I am out of practice.
Am I supposed to tell you that you look beautiful too?
”
I teased.

“
I hope not
,
”
he
smiled.

“
Coffee?
”
I asked hopefully.

“
In the kitchen.
I started without you.
”
He waited until I had poured a cup before he continued.

“
So do you want to hear my plan?
”

“
I do.
What have you got?
”

“
We split up for the day.
You work here and finish what we started last night
—
”