Chapter 48

“THE CABIN IS to your liking, my dear?” Ben asked from the doorway.

Nora spun around and smiled. “It will do fine,” she said.

“You’ll be sharing it with Jack. You’ll need to keep up the charade that you are married on the voyage.”

“Why does Captain Hancock believe Jack is traveling with us?” Nora began unpacking her bags and putting the clothing in trunks, laying the extra blankets over the bed.

“My dearest Eleanor,” Ben smiled, “I know you are skeptical, but I truly believe in my heart that Jack is your Warrior. He fits the profile, and the timing is right.”

Pausing in her task, Nora sighed. She turned and crossed the room to Ben, then closed the cabin door to afford them privacy. “He is my Warrior, Ben. I think deep down, I knew it the first time I saw him, but I needed proof. I needed some sort of sign to ensure I was right.”

“And have you gotten it?”

“I have.” She sat down on the bunk and looked up at him. “He dreams. I think most of them are nightmares, but he dreams of the future, Ben. He saw me there. He saw me die. He’s talked of tall glass buildings and metal birds. He knows things, just like Fox foretold. And more, he knows I am keeping something from him.”

“He does indeed,” Ben nodded, sitting down next to her. “He told me he wouldn’t make the voyage without the truth. If he is your Warrior, he deserves it.”

“Yes, he does. I just don’t know where to begin.”

“I have taken the liberty of inviting him to my cabin this evening, dear.” Ben patted her leg then rose again. “I promised I would tell him what I know. I’ll tell him about the stone and leave the rest to you.”

“I’ve shown him the stone, but only told him Rogan was after it. Do you think he’ll believe the rest?” Nora whispered.

“Who can say?” Ben shrugged. “He is his own man and always will be. He will have his own ideas on how to do things. Listen to him. Your brother said to trust him.”

“I’ve been alone for eighty-two years,” Nora said. “I’m not sure I know how to give up control.”

“Not give it up, dear, share it,” Ben said. “You are both intelligent and brave. You both will contribute much. Working together means truly sharing the weight of the burden. You knew one day you would have to.”

Nora smiled gently as Ben left the cabin, closing the door behind him. She had searched decades for the Scholar, the Healer, and Fox. Her Warrior had arrived right when Fox said he would. Now, she had to have the faith Ben always spoke of. The Bible said that faith was the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things unseen. She had been hoping for the arrival of her Warrior, but now that he was here, she wasn’t sure how to proceed. She would be asking Jack to believe in the things unseen.

And should she tell Jack he was supposed to be her mate? She was reasonably sure that would scare him away. How would he take hearing that his life had been manipulated all along by some other power?

Nora had had nearly a century to come to terms with the knowledge that her life was being governed by a mythical stone. Did Jack have that kind of time? He’d have to take the elixir. What if he refused? Fox hadn’t mentioned any subsequent Warriors, just one.

There were no easy answers for her. There never were. Every decision she made, she second guessed and sometimes even triple guessed. She did everything on faith and the evidence of things unseen.

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JACK ENTERED BEN’S cabin that evening with a flutter in his stomach. He was here for answers, and Ben had promised to provide them. But what if he couldn’t handle what Ben had to say? Would what Ben have to tell him to explain his dreams? Should he tell him about them? If anyone would understand such things, Jack believed it would be Ben. He was an open-minded person. Jack had told Nora, reluctantly, and in a moment of weakness, but she had believed him. She had believed him rather easily.
Ben’s room was cozily lit with oil lamps and a fire in the hearth. The man held a glass of whiskey in his hand and gestured to a chair, where a second glass waited. “Have a seat, Jack.”

Jack sat and took a large sip of whiskey, hoping it would fortify his nerves. He couldn’t remember ever actually being nervous before. Even in times when he was unsure of something, his nerves stayed strong. But this conversation could answer questions he had his entire life.

“I’ve left the bottle out,” Ben said, gesturing to the whiskey bottle resting between them. “I think we’ll both need more through the course of this particular conversation.”

“Not an encouraging sign,” Jack said, reaching over and pouring a more generous amount than the original two fingers into his glass.

“You once asked me why Lord Rogan wanted Nora so badly,” Ben began. “It is because he wants this.” Ben pulled the deep russet-colored stone out of his pocket and held it in his hand.

“Nora showed it to me and explained some of its history. What is so special about it?” Once again, Jack felt drawn to the stone, compelled by something to have it in his hands. Ben handed it over without a qualm.

“Tell me, sir,” Ben began. “What do you know about the Philosopher’s Stone?”

“The Philosopher’s Stone?” Jack asked and furrowed his brow. “I can’t say I have ever heard of it. But then again, I am not an educated man.”

“There are different forms of intelligence, Jack. I daresay you will have plenty of time to learn now,” Ben chuckled and reached for the stone. Jack was surprised at how reluctant he was to give it up. He watched as Ben moved it around in his hands. “Alchemists dream of being able to create such a thing. It is our field’s Holy Grail, if you will. It is the central symbol to our craft. It is perfection. It is enlightenment. It is power. It is life. It can turn base metals into gold or silver, heal illness, or give eternal life.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jack dismissed immediately. The things the old man was saying were impossible. Still, his gaze stayed on the stone in Ben’s hands.

“No? I cannot say I blame you. It’s good to question things. As a scientist, I question everything. The stone holds the elixir of life,” Ben said. “There is not much in the liquid form now, as I am given to understand that the process to extract it is arduous. This stone, used for good, can eradicate disease. We believe that is the intended purpose. But in the wrong hands…”

“In Rogan’s hands,” Jack said, and Ben nodded. Jack tried to process the things Ben was telling him, but he couldn’t. An elixir of life, just a small amount of liquid, granted someone eternal life? So, they would live forever? It was unbelievable. Every logical part of his mind told him this was impossible. People didn’t live forever, they weren’t meant to, but there was a part of him that thought, “What if?”

“Nora came to me not too long ago,” Ben continued. “She is the true Guardian of the stone. A Warrior was to be sent to her to protect her while she searched, over time, for the other three charged with the task: the Scholar, the Healer—”

“And the Fox,” Jack murmured, picturing them clearly in his mind. He reached over and took the stone back, turning it around in his hand and studying it in a new light. It looked unassuming for something supposedly so powerful.

“Yes, and the Fox,” Ben said thoughtfully, studying Jack. “The Warrior must be brave, skilled, and willing to protect her with his life,” Ben continued. “He will be her partner in a task which will likely take centuries. She believes you are that Warrior.”

“Centuries? I’ll be lucky if I make it past the ripe old age of sixty,” Jack laughed. “Why is she the Guardian? It seems a heady task for such a small woman.”

“She is pure of heart, pure of mind, and pure of soul. If she was given the task to protect it, then that is what she will do. She does not have ulterior motives. She isn’t capable of them.”

“For argument’s sake, let us say that I believe you. How do we find these others? Where are they?”

“You will find them, as I said, over the next centuries, and we have no idea where in the world they are. They are brave, much like you. But for obvious reasons, Nora believes they are in hiding. Sooner or later, wouldn’t you notice that your neighbor did not age?”

Jack did not typically believe in magic. But the battle was one of his more constant dreams. The Scholar, the Healer, the Fox, and the Guardian were always in that dream. He could bring their faces to mind with crystal clarity, like he’d spent hours with them. He was not the fanciful sort, but he had never denied that Nora was the exact likeness of the girl in his dreams. He didn’t know how to explain that any other way. His dreams had come true before, though in smaller ways. He couldn’t remember anyone he dreamt about appearing before him in reality though.

“Can Rogan be defeated before the four are together again?”

“So, you do believe.”

“I’m not so sure,” Jack said flatly. “What you are talking about sounds like magic. Further, I am no soldier.”

“No, but neither is she looking for a soldier. She is looking for a warrior.”

“What is the difference?”

“A soldier follows protocol, has a sense of the rules of warfare and engagement, my boy.”

“And a warrior?”

“Merely fights from the heart—from the gut, if you will. You killed four men in the forest and barely broke into a sweat over it.”

“That isn’t true. I was unconscious,” he frowned.

“What I mean to say is, you killed four men in the forest, the men at my house, and I’m guessing even more on the way here, and did not seem upset about it. Do you regret killing them?” Ben asked, taking a sip of his whiskey.

“No.”

“At all?”

“It is cowardice to attack a woman. The weak should be protected by the strong.”

“The Indians taught you this?”

“Yes.”

“Their warriors?”

Jack shifted uncomfortably, neatly cornered. How had he been drawn into this madness? Or maybe it really was sorcery. If it was, he wanted no part of it. He should gather his belongings and leave before the ship sailed, but he couldn’t—and he wouldn’t—at least not until he was assured that Nora would be safe. He felt he owed her at least that.
And he had come to care for her. He was correct in that she held the answers, but these weren’t the ones he expected to find.