The Judas Relic: An Evangeline Heart Holiday Adventure (7 page)

“I wish my dog was here,” Clay said. “I need to call my dog-sitter Dee and see how he is. She said I had to come get him by the twenty-seventh.”
 
His eyelids drooped and I shifted, leaning down to check his pulse. It was strong and sure, but he needed rest. “Just relax, okay? I can check on Marvin.”

“Her number is in my cell under Dee. Thanks.” He crooked a finger, beckoning me closer. I searched his eyes for signs of pain. His bloodied fingers cradled my face and he said, “You’re a terrible wife, I hope you know. But the only partner I’ll ever want.”

Lina

The next day was Christmas Eve, and I woke up in a pair of borrowed pajamas from Anna. They were too short and too big in the waist but they kept me warm enough.

It was mid-morning already and I realized how exhausted I must have been. I’m typically an early-bird-catches-the-worm kind of girl. But as chaotic a place as Ralph’s was, there was also something so cozy and comfortable about it.

I heard some clattering coming from the kitchen and the smell of bacon hurried me down the stairs.

Ralph was seated at the table with a cup of tea and a full plate of breakfast. He spotted me and rubbed his palms together. “Good, good. I don’t like taking a meal alone. Anna made some for you and Clay as well. She just had to run out, something about getting the two of you some clothing.”

“Oh.” The gesture was sweet, but I was skeptic that the sixty-something caregiver might find anything that I’d wear, and even in my size. Then, there was Clay! Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers. “That is very kind of her.”

“That is my Anna. You know that she has been taking care of me ever since my dear wife passed?”

“She is a lovely woman.”

“Yes. Yes, she is.”

“Have you seen Clay yet?”

“Sleeping still. Anna checked on him. I say let him rest,” Ralph replied. “Do get some breakfast. There is plenty there.”

I did as he instructed and plated up some eggs, bacon and toast, and made tea. I sat down across from him and took hungry bites of the savory food.

Ralph looked up at me from his plate. “What happened last night?”

“We were ambushed. Someone wanted Clay dead. It wasn’t so much about me, but about him last night. It was seriously a close call.”

“By Azazel’s men?” he asked, referring to the Angel of Death who had stolen my Griffin’s soul.

I shook my head. No, had the Angel of Death sent his main guy, Harrold, after us, I wouldn’t be near as unsettled. At least I knew about him and had encountered him once already. This was different. This was personal and I didn’t like Clay being on the wrong end of an assassination attempt. A nearly successful one.

“Not Azazel’s men. We’re safe for now, but I’ll need to come up with a plan going forward. And I’ll need to get this situation cleaned up before we go after the second relic…” I lifted my gaze to Ralph. “But I’m worried about the guy who put this attack together. He was the reason I met Clay at Felt’s. He was after the ring. The first relic. He wanted Solomon’s ring. Do you think he’s aware of the keys that lead to unlocking the gates of Hell, and knows that the ring is the first key?”

Ralph sat down heavily in his chair. “This is not someone you can underestimate. Azazel has men and women everywhere and it is possible that this buyer of Clay’s is one of them. Metatron put the two of you together for a reason. Nothing is a coincidence. Clay may be more in this journey than a simple sidekick.”

I sighed and rubbed my temple. I took the stone that I’d taken from the castle out of the pajama pocket. I’d taken if off the nightstand and placed it in my pocket before coming downstairs. I wanted Ralph to take a look, since he’d given me a matching one a few months back. He’d had asked me if there was anything in the house, particularly the office where he kept most of his collected relics and artifacts that I wanted. I’d eyed the stone and had been inexplicably drawn to it, so he’d said that I could have it. It had been a simple stone, nothing extraordinary, and so mundane compared to everything else in Ralph’s collection. When I’d taken it, I’d thought it simply reminded me of my mother—the sand of the stone the same color as the earth of the dig in Jordan where she’d died. But now, with this match... I didn’t think that was why I’d been drawn to it at all.
 

“It’s a consideration. Isn’t it? That Clay is more than just someone to help me get to the relics. And, check this out. This was in the same room of the castle we came from last night, where we, uh, we had a job to do. Obviously, the job didn’t pan out as planned and was a setup. I almost missed this, though, as we were being fired at by whoever was sent to kill Clay.”

Ralph reached for the stone and I handed it over. “Do you still have the other half?”

I nodded. “But not here.”

“I have something to show you,” Ralph said. “Finish your breakfast.”

A few moments later, stomachs full and plates rinsed, I followed Ralph toward the front of the house and through the doors to his overcrowded study. Passing by the living room, I could hear Clay softly snoring, and I smiled and sighed in relief.

Inside Ralph’s office, I paced the small expanse of open floor while he settled into the only chair, tucked against his unorganized desk. “Something Anna found while we cleaned out the kitchen.” He motioned toward a new stack of boxes that hadn’t been crowding the room the last time we were here. “In that top one.”

I lifted up on my tiptoes and opened the flaps. The box held an assortment of relics, papers, and coins.

“On the top, a linen satchel. See it?” he asked.

I spotted it beneath a haphazardly stapled stack of papers, and drew it out. “This?”

He nodded and held out his hand for it. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Lina. Not where the Book of Enoch is concerned, and I know Metatron would not be pleased if I didn’t put these pieces together. He would have known about the ambush tonight, would have known whether you survived it or not … and also would have known about the existence of the other half of the stone.”

Metatron had strange ideas about helping and I preferred to figure things out myself since he had a flair for exuberance that didn’t suit me. If he’d been part of the assassination attempt on Clay, then he was seriously on my shit list, especially if he’d done it to manipulate me toward the stone.
 

I shook my head, dismissing the thought. He’d put Clay and I together, and while Metatron’s code was annoying, so far he’d only kept details from me because he couldn’t tell me. I really didn’t believe that he’d set Clay up—risking my life in the process—just to get me to a relic.

“The stones are from the Garden of Gethsemane. Do you know the name?”

I frowned, finding it familiar. “That’s where Judas betrayed Jesus, right?”

He grinned. “Correct. These halves are from there, said to be from a single stone that James picked up to defend Jesus and the other apostles that night against the approaching soldiers.”

“I don’t remember that part.”

“Because you know the canon—those stories included in the Bible—not the other stories. Not the truth of that night because they weren’t important to those seeking to further Christianity. The part of the evening’s events that were included in the Bible references only Peter’s attack with the sword against the soldier. But all the men that night in the garden with Jesus had been warned that they should be on watch. Jesus knew the betrayal of Judas was coming and when it did, they armed themselves, but only had one sword for all of them.” He pointed at the stone still curled in my fingers. “That is the weapon of James.”

It heated in my palm. I wasn’t sure I’d trust it in battle, but I knew better than to dismiss it. “Okay.”

“And this”—he shook the small bag and I heard coins inside—”is the silver paid to Judas.”

My lips parted and my throat tightened as I reached for it. He shook out the coins, only two. Tiny and tarnished. Such inconsequential tokens for such a historical event. My breath whistled out of my lungs and I shook my head. “And you think I’m meant to have them?”

“I think they’re tied to the next relic.” He took one of the coins from me and rubbed his thumb across the face. “You already have one complete weapon from that night... I believe that you are meant to find the sword Peter used as well.”

My eyes widened. Finding the first relic had been relatively easy because it had been an obscure thing hardly anyone wanted, too steeped in lore and legend. But this one … well, everyone would be after this one.

And, from the looks of it, everyone also included Clay’s buyer.

Lina

Anna came home and surprised us with clothes that were not only in the correct sizes but very stylish. I donned a red cashmere sweater in honor of Christmas and a pair of jeans she’d gotten me.

 
Clay was up and I’d made him some hot food, which he devoured. His sweater was also cashmere but black with a V-neck and I have to say that even with a large bruise on his right cheek, he looked pretty damn good.

A Christmas tree was delivered in the early afternoon and Anna and I decorated it in the window of the front room. Clay and Ralph watched and sipped brandy. Ralph did a good job at directing where each decoration went, and each one had a story behind it.

“I got this one in Hungary.” He pulled out a glass bulb ornament with a delicate-looking hummingbird suspended inside of it. The reds and greens from the bird’s feathers reflected off the light of the glass. “My missus picked it out. Such a lovely trip.”

I wanted to ask him about his wife, but didn’t want to dredge up painful memories, if any, for him.

“And, Clay, how about you. What is one of your favorite memories about Christmas?” Anna asked.

I took in a deep breath, not knowing what he might say, considering what he’d told me regarding his feelings on the holiday.

“You know what, Miss Anna…”

Uh-oh.

“Yes, dear?” Anna hung the hummingbird ornament.

“I have always loved Christmas carolers.”

“Is that right? Me, too,” Ralph interjected. “What is your favorite song?”

“’Silent Night,’” Clay replied.

I smiled at him and he smiled back. Maybe this Christmas wouldn’t be as bad as I’d thought.

After dressing the tree, I helped in the kitchen. If Clay hadn’t been so hurt, I would’ve insisted that he help, too. He was there for moral support and read off the recipes from Anna’s recipe-card box for Christmas Eve dinner. Anna had been kind enough to switch up Christmas for us when she asked me which I enjoyed better … Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Of course, the memories of Christmas Eves spent with Griffin made that an easy response for me. So, instead of making the traditional meal for midday on Christmas day, she’d been sweet to make it on the Eve.
 

As I put the sauce in the fridge to solidify it over the next couple of hours, the doorbell rang. It was a little after four in the afternoon. I rubbed my palms together and glanced at Clay then Anna, who smiled knowingly at me. “I wonder who that could be.”

I went to the door with Anna and opened it. There stood a courier from Heathrow with a dog crate. I signed for it and brought the crate in, then opened the door. Out bounded Marvin, who headed straight back for the kitchen as if he knew exactly where he’d find Clay.

“Marvin!” Clay hollered. “How in the world?”

I walked into the kitchen seeing the site of Marvin lick Clay’s face to death. Clay smiled up at me. “You?”

I nodded.

“What? How?”

“Well, seeing that we are five hours ahead over here, I called Dee and asked if she’d mind taking Marvin to the private-plane entrance at JFK this morning. I made it worth her while.” I shrugged, getting embarrassed at the effort it had taken to get Marvin here in time for Christmas. “I had a friend with the agency, a pilot who owed me a favor, and knew would love to see the Paris lights at Christmas. He agreed, flew Marvin and his-soon-to-be fiancé here, and then they took off for Paris after hooking up with the courier service.”

He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, giving me a big hug. “Best present ever. Thank you, Lina.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I wish I had something for you.”

“You being happy with your dog on Christmas is good enough for me,” I replied and I meant it.

A couple of hours later as we set the readied food on the dinner table, the doorbell rang once again.

Anna and I exchanged glances. “Expecting anyone?”

“No. Ralph, are you?”

“No,” he replied, standing over his cane, surveying our place settings. Clay was finally feeling well enough that he was in the kitchen carving the turkey.

“Probably carolers,” Anna said as she moved past me, heading to the front door.

Ralph stood and drew his cane across my body, silently demanding I stay put. I receded into the hallway of tall boxes and wished I could sneak into the kitchen and check on Clay.

I bit my lip and strained to hear who’d come to the door.

“Who’s calling, please?” Ralph’s voice boomed from the dining room as he pulled the door between it and the front entrance tight.

But even with the door closed, the voice on the other side resonated deeply in my chest and I raced toward the door, yanking it open. “Malcolm!”

He swept into the house, past an astonished Anna, who quickly shut and bolted the door. I hugged him tightly, holding him close. “Lina, my girl.”
 
He pulled away, glancing at Ralph and Anna. “Please excuse my intrusion.” He bowed to Anna, then shook Ralph’s hand. “I only meant to stop and see her. She’s like a daughter to me. She’s my family. I won’t stay. I just needed to see her smiling face for Christmas before I head home.”

“Nonsense,” Anna said firmly, reaching up to take Malcolm’s hat and jacket. “If you’re Lina’s family, I certainly won’t go turning you away.”

Malcolm stretched his dark brown hand out and shook Ralph’s and Anna’s as he introduced himself. Ralph beamed, lost in the exchange and what was happening. He moved so quickly between lucidity and confusion that sometimes it startled me. “Fancy a brandy there, Malcolm? Then, a little sit-down for dinner?”