Ryder watches as David rubs the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses for the hundredth time. Even on the small screen in his car, Ryder can tell the guy looks tense. He’s worried about something. And completely clueless to the tiny camera tucked just under the curtain rail above his window.
It means Ryder can hear and see everything David does in his room. Like rub the bridge of his nose. Again.
“What’s on your mind, Davy-boy?” Ryder murmurs.
The moment David had blurted the word witch over the phone yesterday, he’d clammed up. He’d stammered out more assurances that everything was fine, then hung up, saying he’ll call him back later. Ryder had debated long and hard whether to call him back, acting the concerned friend, but it had felt too soon. Too pushy.
So he’d installed a camera and microphone in his room, instead, while David was in class. Ryder needs to find out what he knows. And how.
David picks up his phone again, glancing at the screen. He’s done that about as many times as he’s rubbed the skin where his glasses sit. It’s like he’s expecting a call. He’s about to put it down when the trilling sound of his ringtone carries through the speakers of Ryder’s screen.
David quickly picks up. “Mikki? I’ve been trying to get hold of you for ages!”
He snaps his mouth shut, drawing his chin back as if he just got punched. “Who told you I was with Sierra?”
Ryder stills. Mikki’s voice isn’t discernible, but her tone is. She’s pissed. And it’s because of what he told her.
“No, of course it doesn’t matter who told me. I was just curio—”
David closes his eyes, a pained expression on his face, and Ryder shifts a little in the car seat. He’s the cause of that expression. But he quickly slams his brow down. Kane told him more about the Grail Keepers last night.
They buried the Grail centuries ago, coveting its powers and killing anyone who tried to find it. They know of the Grail’s healing powers, its ability to save lives, and yet they don’t care. The gifts of the Grail are their birthright and no one else’s. Kane said the Grail could’ve healed Ryder’s father's cancer. He’d still be alive. The trajectory of Ryder’s life would’ve been completely different. He never would’ve been sent to live with the mother who could barely care for herself, let alone her son.
Ryder’s hand tightens around the steering wheel, making the rubber creak under the pressure. David’s pain is a splinter compared to the heartache Ryder’s been forced to endure. And unless the Keepers are stopped, more death and loss will shred people’s lives, leaving it in tatters.
David sighs. “Yes, I was with Sierra. Nim and Blaise were also there. Blaise thought there was something worth checking out in some old building.”
Ryder sits up a little straighter. The building was empty, and yet the four of them disappeared.
“Yes, the four of us. I wasn’t just with Sierra.”
Ryder clenches his teeth. Of course that’s what Mikki would focus on—whether her boyfriend had a chaperone as he hung out with Sierra.
“I thought we were past this,” David says in a low voice. His shoulders soften. “Yeah, I know. I love you, too.”
Ryder sighs himself. How many times do these people say that to each other?
“I’m just trying to get this paper done on the archaeological significance of the Middle East. I’ll be done in an hour or so. Why don’t you come over?” His smile broadens. “It’s a date.”
David hangs up but Ryder’s no longer paying attention. Someone’s walking down the path toward David’s house, a satchel over her shoulder.
Sierra.
She strides with purpose, her blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders. For some reason, Ryder’s breath evaporates. The girl is beautiful, but he’s seen beautiful girls before. A good proportion of them openly flirt with him, especially when he’s in uniform. But he’s never had time to consider a relationship, and their fluttering lashes and quick touches have never had him looking twice.
But Sierra does. In fact, just like the first time he saw her, she grabs his attention and doesn’t let go. Energy and emotion seems to throb in this girl. Like she’s more alive than anyone he’s ever seen. She brushes a strand of hair from her face, sunlight seeming to caress her porcelain cheek. She moves with a casual, confident grace that has Ryder’s eyes trailing down her body to her denim-clad—
He yanks his gaze away, mortified that he was checking her out while he’s on a job. He rubs the bridge of his nose, conscious it’s the same gesture David was using earlier. It seems he’s not the only one who’s tense.
Sierra walks up to the front door and enters without knocking and disappears inside. Ryder looks back at the screen, watching as she once again enters David’s room without knocking. He frowns. These two are certainly very familiar with each other. No wonder Mikki is so threatened.
David looks up, not seeming too surprised to see Sierra there even though Ryder’s pretty sure her visit is unexpected.
“Hey,” he says quietly. “I tried to call you this afternoon.”
Poor David. Both the women in his life were giving him the runaround.
Sierra smiles and Ryder’s glad he’s watching this on a little black and white screen. He needs to get himself under control with this girl.
“I went out with Blaise and Nim,” she announces happily.
“You what? I told you to call me if you were going to do that again. Not after…”
“That’s exactly why I went without you,” Sierra says, an eye roll apparent in her voice. “You scored pretty high on the freak out scale yesterday, David.”
“That’s because I’m a normal person! Not someone looking for the next kitten to rescue!” David jams his hands in his hair. “You’re always trying to be someone’s hero.”
Sierra crosses her arms, seemingly unfazed by David’s words. “This time it’s different.”
“You don’t know that. I think you should stay away from the Archivists.”
Ryder leans a little closer, frowning. Who are the Archivists?
“And I know you should stay away from this crazy, futile search for the Grail,” David adds.
Shock spears through Ryder. They know about the Grail!
Sierra sits on the bed. “It’s too late,” she says simply. “We’ve already started.”
David groans as he drops his head in his hands. Ryder’s not sure he’s taken a breath.
We’ve already started…
Sierra pulls the satchel in her lap and opens it. “And we found this.”
Ryder watches, his lungs aching for oxygen, as she pulls out what looks to be a stone.
David wheels closer on his desk chair. “It’s a rock.”
David takes it, rolling it over. It’s about the size of a cantaloupe, but more triangular. “It looks like it’s amphibolite,” he muses. “Which isn’t from around here.”
“See!” Sierra says excitedly. “Do you think you could carbon date it?”
David pauses in his examination. “Why?”
Sierra is practically bouncing on the bed. “We found it in a secret room. Blaise is sure it’s something important, otherwise the Grail Keepers wouldn’t have hidden it.”
Ryder’s breath explodes out. The Grail Keepers!
David goes to speak, but Sierra leans forward and places her hands over his as he holds the stone. “Please, David? This is important.”
He sighs. “Give me a couple of days. I’ll take it into the lab and see what I can do.”
Sierra leaps up and throws her arms around his shoulders. “You’re the bestest best friend a girl could have!”
David chuckles, hugging her with one arm. He’s still holding the rock in his other hand. They separate and smile at each other, their fond expressions suddenly making Ryder nauseous.
He leaps out of his car, needing some fresh air. But the grass-tinted breeze does nothing for the band that’s wrapped around his chest. He strides forward blindly, emotion clogging his throat and making it hard to breathe.
Sierra and her friends know far more than he suspected.
Which means finding that stone has sealed their fates. Kane’s order is already ricocheting through Ryder’s brain.
“End them.”