Vision in Trust (Legends of the North #2) (20 page)

As soon as Rob heard him agree, he started walking away. "Thanks," he threw over his shoulder. Operating on autopilot, he grabbed his stuff from his locker and made his way to the car.
 

What if she wasn't okay? He'd only just found her. The thought of losing her made his chest tighten painfully, and absently he rubbed at it. He needed to see her, hold her, so he put his foot down, not really caring about the speed limit because the roads were empty.
 

The drive passed without him realising as he pulled up outside James's cottage.

Switching off the engine, he sat in the dark of the car. Listened to the sound of the engine ticking and humming. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel, and he forced himself to let go and push open the door.
 

Not bothering to knock, he walked inside and heard voices from upstairs. Slowly, he followed the sound to a bedroom. He stopped in the doorway as relief rushed through him. Jess was lying in the bed, looking like she was just taking a nap. Emma sat on the side of the bed, holding her hand. Matt and James were standing by the window, discussing something in hushed voices. They both turned to look at him when Emma said his name. Turning his attention back to Jess, he walked over to Emma.

"She hasn't woken up yet," she said, as she reached for his hand.
 

Rob couldn't take his gaze from Jess or believe that anything was actually wrong with her. She looked fine. "I'll take her back to her place, stay with her there."

"No, you bloody won't. You're not moving her."

James's harsh tone made Rob look towards him. He was still standing by the window, but Matt had a hand pressed against his chest, as though he were holding James back. Seriously? What was that about? Taking a step towards James, Rob clenched his fists, quite happy to go a round. Who did James think he was? Did he think he could keep Jess away from him? Emma quickly rose and stood in front of Rob, a hand on his arm.

Looking over her shoulder, she said to James, "Rob can stay here with Jess. Can't he?"

James leaned back against the windowsill, crossed his arms, his eyebrows drawing together as he scowled at Rob. "I guess. Means I can keep an eye on him."

Keep an eye on me? What the fuck?
What the hell did James think he was going to get up to while his sister was unconscious?

"Good," Emma said with a clap. "That's settled, then. Let's leave Rob and Jess alone for a while." She ushered Matt and James out of the room. With her hand on the knob, she turned back to Rob. "Give me a shout if you need anything."

He nodded. "Thanks." Then Emma quietly shut the door, leaving him alone with Jess.
 

Pulling a chair up next to the bed, he sat beside her. Taking her hand in his, he noted how cold she felt. Lifting her hand he dislodged the covers and gasped.
 

Her neck was red and blistered. On the top of her shoulder and disappearing down her back, he could see red scratches covered with drops of dried blood. Where the hell had she been? Why hadn't she listened to him and just stayed at home? He knew what had done this. He recognised the marks and wounds from when he'd been attacked by the wolf.

Dropping his head onto the mattress beside Jess's head, he clenched his fists, trying to get a grip on his anger. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so worked up. But that was because he'd never felt this way before. He loved her. Yes, he could admit that now. He'd finally realised his feelings, but was it too late? There was only one thing left to do. He had to tell her. When she woke up, he would show her. He lifted his head and gazed at her beautiful face, brushed her hair back.

"I love you, Jess. You need to wake up so I can tell you how much I love you."

For two days, Rob managed to avoid James. It wasn't difficult, as Rob spent most of his time by Jess's side, and James locked himself away in the dining room. Apart from the odd shout, and what sounded like a book being hurled against the wall, Rob could have been alone in the house for all he knew.
 

He'd called work that day, told them he wouldn't be back in for at least the rest of the week. He didn't plan on going anywhere until Jess woke up. Two days was a long time to be out of it, though. It hadn't taken him that long after he'd been attacked.

Brushing his hand across Jess's forehead, relief swept over him, as she felt much cooler to his touch. Pressing his lips to her forehead, he quietly left the room with one last glance at her over his shoulder. No change.

Jogging down the stairs, he headed for the kitchen to make himself some lunch. He stopped short when he saw James's head half-hidden inside the open fridge. Taking a step back, he wondered if he should just come back later. But that would be admitting he was avoiding James, and he had no reason to.

"Hungry?" James asked

"What you got?" Rob said, making his way over to the fridge.

"Bacon sound good?"

"You'll get no complaints from me." He leaned against the cupboards and crossed his legs at the ankles. Rob was going for the relaxed look, but he wasn't sure he'd managed it. What James thought mattered to Jess, and Rob wanted James to think he was an okay guy.
 

James closed the fridge door and pulled a frying pan out of a drawer. "Any change?"

Rob’s eyebrows drew together as he tried to work out what James meant.

When he didn't answer, James asked, "With Jess. Any change with Jess?"

Rob shook his head. "She's still not awake. Although her skin felt cooler to the touch. That's got to be a good sign, right?"

Lighting the gas under the frying pan, James glanced over at Rob for a moment. "I guess," he answered, noncommittally.
 

Now that they were talking, Rob didn't want to let the opportunity pass, even if he did annoy James. "Don't you think we should call a doctor?" Rob watched James as he added the bacon to the pan, the sizzle of it the only sound in the kitchen. Carrying on regardless, Rob said, "If she doesn't wake up soon, we should call a doctor."

James turned the heat down under the pan and stared at Rob. "Emma already cleaned her wounds with the medication Matt was given. A doctor won't be able to help wake her up. The only thing they could do is get suspicious, and we don't need to draw unnecessary attention to our situation." James flipped the bacon over in the pan. He pulled out a loaf from the bread bin and two plates from the cupboard. Crossing his arms over his chest, he faced Rob again. "You care about her, don't you?"

What kind of question was that? "Of course I do," Rob said as he stood straighter, crossing his arms over his chest as well.

"Do you love her?"

Rob's eyebrows rose at James's words. The guy clearly had no issues with boundaries. He unfolded his arms and said, "With all due respect, James, I think the first person who should hear the answer to that question is Jess."

James gave a curt nod in response. "Fair enough." He turned away from Rob, took the bacon out of the pan, placed it on the bread, then handed Rob a sandwich.

"Thanks," Rob said, as he took the plate. He followed James into the dining room that also held all of their research. Rob glanced around the room as he took a bite of the sandwich.
 

Every spare inch of wall was covered with paper, drawings, lists or Post-it notes. There was an open book on the floor, probably from where James had thrown it. Raising his chin in its direction, Rob asked, "What's that?"

James scowled at the book, his nostrils flaring as he exhaled loudly. "I was trying to find out who the prisoner was in Jess's vision, but there's no mention of him anywhere. I found one obscure line that mentioned the escape of a prisoner and the disappearance of the legion commander, but that's it."

Rob put his sandwich down on the plate and stared at the book for a moment. Slowly turning to James, Rob asked, "What if that's it?"

"What do you mean?"

Setting his plate on the desk, Rob started to pace. "What if it was the commander who was killed? In Jess's vision, she never saw the prisoner being killed, just that he was tied to the tree."

"How could the commander be killed? And why would there be no record of it?" James started rifling through a pile of books until he dragged one out and flicked through the pages. "Look, it says it here. 'The commander's horse was seen leading the legion out of the village for the last time.' He was still alive when the Romans left England."

"No," Rob said. "It says his
horse
was seen. It doesn't actually mention the commander himself. Don't you think that's a little strange?" Rob started pacing again; it seemed to help his thoughts to flow. "Jess said the prisoner was tied to a sycamore tree and a hole had been dug in front of him. But what if it wasn't him who ended up in the hole? Sycamore trees are planted by burial mounds. Coffins are made from sycamore wood. What if it's actually the commander who is buried there?"
 

James was scowling at him. Clearly, he was dubious, and Rob couldn't really blame him. What did he know about any of this? What did any of them really?
 

"Look, do you have any other ideas? The tree and the grave were in Jess's vision. I think the least we should do is check it out."

***

James's scowl deepened as he glared at Rob. It couldn't be. James wasn't willing to accept Rob’s explanation. How could history have completely missed the fact that the commander had been killed in England?

 
If it had happened, there would have been chaos. A fight to determine who would take his place and lead the legion. None of that was documented anywhere. James turned his back on Rob and set his plate on top of a pile of papers as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
 

Rob couldn't just rewrite history because it fit into their current situation. James didn't know Rob well, but he knew they could argue over this until the tides rose on the River Alten. He moved to face Rob again, looked him straight in the eye, and said, "Prove it."

Rob's eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "What?"

James crossed his arms and leaned back against the desk. "You heard me. Prove it."

"How?"

"We go dig up what you think is his grave. Except my guess is that we’ll find nothing but earth beneath that tree."

"I'm not leaving Jess on her own."

James slowly nodded, and a grin crept over his face.
The boy has it bad. He just better be careful, because if he ever hurts her ...
"Let me call Matt. He can help us, and Emma can stay here with Jess."

Rob nodded, putting the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth as James pulled out his mobile.

An hour later, via a visit to the gardener’s shed at Altenbury Hall, the three of them stood looking at the sycamore tree. There was nothing remarkable about it, and Rob couldn't see anything that distinguished it from the other trees nearby.
 

Glancing to his left, Matt was just staring at the tree too. As he glanced to his right, he saw James's head lower, staring at the ground. Rob looked back towards the tree, not quite believing they were about to do this.
 

If—and that was a bloody huge if—he was right, they were about to dig up a grave. Not just any grave, but that of a legion legate—a Roman commander of the army who might have been buried there for over a thousand years.

Wait. Would there even be anything to find after so many years?
Glancing back at Matt, Rob watched as he dropped the blade of his spade into the earth, deciding to keep that thought to himself. James moved across from Matt and threw the edge of his spade into the earth with a scary amount of force. The three of them worked quietly, slowly removing the soil from beneath the tree, until they were all coated in sweat and breathing hard.

Rob was beginning to think that James had been right, and the only thing underneath the massive hole they had dug was more earth. Leaning on his spade handle, he took a break, wiping his arm across his damp forehead. As he briefly closed his eyes, he heard it.
 

His eyes flew open to stare at Matt questioningly. Matt looked from Rob to James then lifted his spade before throwing the blade back into the soil. Again, the sound of metal clunking against wood, and Matt froze. Looking from James to Rob, Matt threw his spade to the ground and dropped to his knees.
 

He started to use his hands to push the soil out of the way as Rob stood frozen, watching. Matt slowly started to reveal something, but all Rob could make out was a patch of
 
red before James dropped to his knees too.
 

Both of them brushed soil off what they had found and, whatever it was, it looked big. Definitely not a body, Rob thought with some relief. Taking a step closer, he stopped when Matt spoke with what he could only describe as a tone of awe.

"It's a shield," Matt exclaimed
 

Rob dropped to his knees and started to claw the earth away too. He sat back on his heels when Matt dislodged it and held it up, the last of the soil falling from it. It covered most of his body as he held it against him. Rather than being flat, as Rob had imagined, it curved at either side, so it could be wrapped around the body completely. The shield was mainly red, but in the centre were four joined wings that fanned out, and between each yellow wing was a lightning bolt.

"It's only a real bloody Roman shield," Matt said, as he started to jiggle the shield around. "Do you have any idea how important a find this is? No Roman artefacts have been found in Altenchester in decades. Oh, my God, and we found it."

"Them," James said, as calm as ever compared to his brother’s excitement.

Matt stilled and stared at James. "What?"

"Them," James said again, nodding towards the hole they had dug.

Rob peered down and saw James was right—another two shields were still partially buried in the soil. Goosebumps broke out over Rob's skin, and he liked to think it was just the cool air on his heated skin from the digging. But as he sat there, staring at the shield, he felt something. Some kind of connection. Those shields had belonged to Roman soldiers who had lived there, fought there, probably even died there. Matt was holding a piece of history in his hands. A history the three of them were somehow connected to, and Rob suddenly felt very small in the grand scheme of life.