__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter two

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The young man sitting behind the computer terminal rubbed his eyes tiredly, a glance at his watch told him it was definitely time to head for bed. Almost midnight, he had been sitting behind this screen a long time.

"Oh no, Nick, you shouldn't be up at this hour, so close to the haunting hour. Or are you dead and I'm looking at your spirit?"

All Alex received was a tired look and a scowl, before her colleague turned his attention back to his screen, eyes peering intently at small letters, probably dancing before him. She doubted Nick would take in any kind of information right about now. He looked dead on his feet, and very grumpy. Better make this short and simple she mused.

"So, what did you find?"

At that he seemed to perk up a little, his fingers dancing over the black keyboard, pulling up windows so fast she could hardly keep track of them. She wasn't a bad researcher herself on the computer, but out of her league when it came to Nick's skills. He was able to hack into almost any system.

"Okay, it's not much, but it's something. It's definitely a Celtic chalice, probably used for ceremonies. The Celts were in Connemara from 600 BC till 400 AD, so there's no telling how old it is yet. It has one specific mark though, which means it was used close to the area of ford Dún Mór. That ford was used as a place of refuge when there was war. That's it."

The Creole woman nodded, it was indeed not much, but it was something to start with. She saw Nick had started a scan on it, but that would take a few hours to finish, at least.

"How about you and I get some sleep, I think we earned it."

Nick nodded, as he shut down his terminal, making sure the scan would keep running, hopefully giving them some results in the morning. Stiffeling a yawn he stood up, stretching his sore aching muscles and his cramped up legs. A few joints popped into place with loud cracks, causing Alex to laugh. It seemed the young man could use some training again, but with the work load lately there hadn't been any time for it at all.

"Ya know, if you told me five years back I would be spending my time behind a computer I would have laughed,"

He told her as they left the control room, flipping off the lights in the library as they made their way to their rooms. He was right though, it seemed they were getting less action the past few weeks, though it had some good qualities about it. For instance the ex-seal wasn't being thrown into walls anymore, every time she had seen her colleague being lifted and thrown, flying through the room to stop against a wall had given her a real fright. If she was getting grey hair early it was because of him.

"Good night Nick."

Wisely she didn't respond as she smiled at her younger partner, as she slipped into her own room. Nick watched her go with a shake of the head, as he stepped into his own a few seconds later. He didn't even bother about getting a shower; jeans and shirt were tossed onto the floor, replaced by grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt, the genuine Nick Boyle sleeping attire. It was either that or simple boxer shorts, but it was a bit too cold for that at the moment. With a sigh the lean figure crawled into bed, making himself comfortable.

~

Hours later the weather in San Francisco had completely turned, it was still cold, but the heavy fog had been replaced with rain, while thunder roared and lightning lit the dark sky. Wind had picked up, blowing leaves, dirt and small sticks everywhere, tiny rocks and hard rain battering against the windows of the eerie quiet Legacy House on Angel Island. Or perhaps not all that quiet.

An older man was sleeping, not a peaceful rest, as he was tossing and turning in the heavy wooden bed. Silk sheets were draped across long slender legs, while wavy dark grey locks were plastered against a handsome face. A light sheen of sweat covered a frown marred forehead while full elegant lips were parted, moving without speaking words.

Derek Rayne was not just simply dreaming, no, he was having what seemed to be a vision of some sort, his gift of EPS creating the frightening illusion of a nightmare. His mind was not so sure of what it was he was seeing, though his soul experienced it all the more. His body convulsed, shudders running through the tall body of the Dutchman, as his face was a mask of pure horror.

"O Gott no," he murmured, his head tossing from side to side on the sweat soaked pillow. "Watch out, he's coming...run...Nick...watch out....NO!"

With a scream he sat up suddenly, panting as the aftermath of the dream lingered in his mind, until it was forgotten. Hazel eyes darted around the dark room while his breathing became more regular. He didn't remember what had awoken him; the vision had slipped from his mind, though there was a nagging thought that it had been important. A sigh escaped him as his long fingers felt the damp silk pyjama, realising he would not be able to sleep anymore tonight. A glance to his clock told him it was only 3 am, it was still dark outside. The Dutchman stepped out of bed, making wearily his way to the bathroom, to take a nice long and warm shower.

Meanwhile in the control room the scan was complete, the red letters flashing on the screen while the results were printed of in the large printer. The chalice seemed even darker, without the lights flicked on, though it was as if there was light coming of it. It seemed it was slightly trembling, as if there was an earthquake. It continued for about five minutes, when the trembling turned into some sort of rattling. Something was in it, and it wanted to get out!

DANGER..…the screen now flashed urgently, the sensitive technology in the room picking up on the strange chalice. It came too late, the chalice bursting, fragments of iron flying as a flash of bright gold was released, flying up before disappearing. One fragment had trashed a terminal, while another was embedded in the large screen, the other lying shattered on the ground.