“I need you far away and safe.” He glanced to the bag he’d set by the front door, the books, and maps they’d taken from Cambria. “And I’d love to bounce ideas off you. Dad? I’ve found some maps that may point us to Tromos. If you wouldn’t mind taking a look?”
Nodding, Jonathan’s shoulders relaxed, and a smile softened his expression. “Of course.”
Chapter13
Crossing the room with an unnatural swiftness, no longer slowing his movements for the sake of secrecy, Bennett grabbed the books and map they’d taken from Cambria. His parents followed him to the dining table. Adair hung back and watched as the tension eased.
As Lizzy lowered to her chair, she bumped the table, and it rattled at the light touch. “Jonathan? Let’s remember to tighten these screws down, the legs are loose already.”
Cheeks flaming red, Adair caught Bennett’s eye and bit her tongue.
He winked at her and said to his parents, “You just bought it, too. You should leave a review.”
Blushing brighter, Adair looked away and took the empty seat, trying to blink away the penetrating image of precisely how they’d loosened those screws. She drew her eyebrows into a scowl and unfolded the map, shadowing her fingertips over the faded ink. “We obtained this from an ancient that was collaborating with Calloway.”
At her side, Jonathan traced over the legend, then along the coastline.
Crossing his arms, Bennett leaned against the wall and watched. “We had read the location was in a river town, but I don’t see any rivers on that map.”
Jonathan shook his head as he continued to study the contours. “What language was the text where you found the prophecy?”
Bennett shook his head, glaring at the lack of rivers on the map. “It’s a compilation of prophecies, likely translated several times over and could have been mistranslated or inaccurately transcribed if that’s what you’re getting at. I know the text well, and it’s filled with riddles and convolutions.”
“I wonder…” Jonathan squinted as he studied the contours. “This is clearly a caldera. Santorini, if I am not mistaken.”
Adair nodded. “I agree. This is Santorini. Lethe is a river in Greek mythology that separates the underworld and Elysian, and it was also a word used to mean forget or conceal. Hiding a demon wouldn’t be easy. Burying him under a volcano could disguise his activity as eruptions.”
“Trapping him between worlds. Forgotten.” Lizzy eased open one of the books. “Demon hunter journals. These could be devastating in the hands of a vampire.”
Adair grimaced. “They were.”
She found Bennett’s laptop on the side table. She pulled up a map of Santorini, but it wasn’t a perfect match. Searching the history, she layered past maps. “The Minoan Eruption, roughly 1610 BC, would have been too early. The next major eruption was in 197 BC. That’s right around when vampires are said to have come into existence. Either their efforts to conceal Tromos caused this eruption, or they took advantage of the recent activity and chose this location because of it.”
“Either way,” Bennett said as he came to stand behind her, reading the eruption history. He nuzzled his cheek at her temple, his breath warm against her skin. “It’s been pretty active since. I think we can assume he’s not sleeping beauty down there.”
Adair looked up at him, the sharp angle of his jaw shadowed by the dark edge of beard. “I think it’s time to call in your team.”
Bennett leaned down and pressed his lips to the pulse point of her neck, lingering long enough to stir her yearning that wouldn’t quit. Backing away, he pulled out his phone and made the call.
Jonathan rose to his feet and snapped a picture of the map. “You’ve got work to do. As do we. I’ll see if I can narrow down possible entrances based on the geomorphology, or if I can discover any unnatural features.”
A soft smile on her face, Lizzy glanced to the window and back. “A demon hunter that cannot read the terrain doesn’t last long. Adair, please accept my apologies for judging you so contemptuously before. If you are agreeable, let’s have that dinner before we part ways?”
Blush flaming her cheeks, Adair nodded. “I’d like that.”
Dinner was more pleasant than she had expected. They arranged for a private corner in a local restaurant they frequented often so they could talk almost freely. Although Lizzy insisted they keep it light.
“I confess, we haven’t gotten to meet any of Bennett’s girlfriends. Well, aside from Quinn of course, but we have known her since she was born.” Lizzy grinned as she chewed her roast duck over mixed greens.
Jonathan chuckled. “Excellent point. Okay, let’s see.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw and grinned. “Got it. My favorite embarrassing story.” He flashed Bennett a deviously charming wink. “Humor me, I have never been granted the opportunity and have longed to for nearly a century.”
The resemblance knocked the wind from Adair’s lungs. And officially took her breath away as he kissed the back of his wife’s hand and beamed. A sappy lover even after a century.
“Anyway,” he continued. “Bennett can’t have been more than four at that time. Lizzy’s team was hunkered down in our BC home, about to drive against a horde of vampires. Things were incredibly tense. Their chances of succeeding, of even surviving this mission, were against them. While they were loading up their gear, the air was heavy with a shroud of portent. Not a word shared between them, nothing but heavy sighs as they accepted their fate. I stood leaned against the pillar at the front door, watching my wife and friends working together in what I hoped wouldn’t be the last time. The life of a hunter’s spouse isn’t for the fainthearted. Anyway, I digress. In the thick of all this, here comes Bennett sprinting and leaping out the front door, ready to join the fight.”
Lizzy tipped her head back and laughed out loud, more animated than Adair had seen. Well, happier-animated anyway. She’d been violently animated when Bennett had shown his teeth, and had clearly been trying to make up for her initial reaction until she began to relax at dinner. Adair was relieved to see Bennett’s mother was great company when she wasn’t worrying after her son.
Jonathan calmed his laughter enough to continue. “All he had on was a leather belt cinched around his waist, a dagger sheathed at his hip, and he carried the biggest sword he could lift, swinging it over his head, hollering how he was coming to save the day.”
