Cursed (25 page)

     Fifteen minutes
later, the road became steeper, the tires crunching over the gravel covered
road as the car moved farther up the hill. As they rose in elevation, a heavy
blanket of mist settled over the area. Thick forest lined the road, the
headlights barely piercing the dense gloom.

     When the road came
to a dead end, Cullinan stopped the car beside a copse of trees and cut the
engine. “This is as far as we can go in the car. We’ll have to walk the rest of
the way.”

     Hope glanced around
and saw nothing but fog and the shadows of trees. “I don’t see anyone.
Hopefully we weren’t followed.”

     “Maybe, maybe not.
Keep your eyes and ears open,” Cullinan said. He brought Tess’s hand to his
mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Ready?”

     She nodded and gave
him a smile.

     Slowly they headed
north as they picked their way along the forest path, their feet rustling
against the undergrowth of grass and small bushes. Cold air swirled around
them. Hope’s heart thudded erratically in her chest as her gaze darted back and
forth looking for anyone who might be lurking among the trees. Nick held her
hand, his fingers laced with hers, the warmth and strength of his hand
reassuring. She turned, looked at him and smiled. He returned her smile and
winked. Suddenly, she felt as though everything was going to be all right.

     Silence filled the
forest. Not even the call of a bird disturbed the quiet. Mist fell in ethereal
sheets, chilling her further. Hope shivered inside her coat and Nick put his
arm around her. Briefly, she laid her head on his shoulder and inhaled his
fresh, clean scent mixed with the smell of the birch trees. The trees thinned
and soon they walked into a small clearing filled with spindly bushes and
sparse grass. The mountain dropped away a few feet to their left in a steep
cliff. To their right Hope barely saw the church at a distance in the fog.

     Thud.

     Hope’s heart slid
into her throat. Everyone stopped. Nick dropped his arm from Hope’s shoulder
and reached for the gun the assailant had left behind tucked into the waistband
of his pants. He gripped the handle in both hands and held the gun out in front
of him as he slowly swept the barrel first one way and then the other.

     Hope couldn’t see
anyone through the swirling fog and misty rain. Cullinan stepped over to them
with his arm around Tess’s waist.

     Nick looked at
Cullinan. “You stay here with Tess and Hope. I’m going to take a look.” He
turned to Hope, touched the side of her cheek with his fingers and smiled.
“I’ll be right back.”

     With trepidation,
Hope watched Nick disappear back into the cover of the trees. Cullinan drew
Tess into his arms and she nestled her head against the side of his neck. To
give them some privacy, Hope adjusted the collar of her coat to shield her neck
from the rain and stepped toward a large rock barely visible only a foot or so
away. Hope heard a rustling noise and started to turn when a strong, male arm
grabbed her around her throat. Panic zipped through her in a hot flood and fear
buzzed in her head. She stumbled and fell against his chest. The man smelled of
light sweat mixed with expensive cologne. She gasped as he pressed the cold
barrel of a gun to her temple.

     “Hope!” Tess cried
out.

     Nick rushed out of
the woods.

     Hope’s heart thumped
madly in her chest and her pulse thundered in her ears. Her gaze found Nick’s
across the few feet that separated them. Would she die before they even had a
chance to begin their life together? It had taken Nick over two years to move
on after the death of his wife. History was repeating itself. What would her
death do to him? Her assailant pressed his arm harder against her throat. Her
breath wheezed from her lungs. Stars danced in front of her eyes. She blinked,
trying to clear her vision. Would this be the last time she saw Nick?

     “You again,”
Cullinan said in a raw voice.

     “Yeah,” the man
sneered. “All I had to do was throw that rock and you people fell
for    the oldest trick in the book. Now I want you to lay the
pendant on the ground halfway     between us, then back
away slowly. Do it now or your sister gets it.”

     Cullinan held up his
hands palm out. “Okay, it’s in my pocket.” He lowered his hands  reached
into his pocket. “Who the hell are you anyway?”

     “Alex Case.”

     A mask of hatred
blanketed Cullinan’s face. Contempt flashed in his eyes, his lips curling in
disgust. “You killed my father.” His cold, exact tone seemed to freeze the air
around them.

     Case’s hot, sour
breath wafted over Hope’s cheek and into her nose, threatening to gag her. She
fought against a wave of nausea. “He deserved it, too.”

     His impersonal voice
made her shudder inside. He said the words as though her father had been
nothing more than something stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

     “Thought he could steal
from me and get away with it.” He chuckled next to Hope’s ear.

     Were they all going
to die here on the side of this mountain? From a distance, she saw 
Cullinan’s body stiffen in anger. Damn it, they were finally at the church,
ready to put the    pendant back where it belonged so the curse
would finally be over, but a cold-blooded killer stood in their way.

     Cullinan removed his
hand from his pocket, lifted his arm and uncurled his fingers. The pendant lay
flat in his palm, the stone glowing pure and white. With his gaze shifting
between Case and Hope, Cullinan walked to a point halfway between them.

     “Stop,” Case
demanded. “Place it on the ground.”

     Cullinan hesitated.

     Case jabbed the
barrel of the gun into Hope’s temple. Hope flinched and her heart nearly
stopped beating.

     Her captor laughed.
“Your old man flinched too. In fact, toward the end he was screaming his head
off begging for mercy. All I had to do was pick up the jumper cables.”

     Jumper cables? Oh,
God, Hope thought. Rage at what Case had done to her father poured through her
and yet she was helpless to stop him once again. She knew they would all end up
dead if her brother didn’t give up the pendant. He had to. Yet so many lives
had been lost because of it. If he gave it to Case, more would die and the
curse would continue.

     Cullinan knelt,
placed the pendant on the ground and straightened, then backed away.

     “We’re going to walk
very slowly over to the pendant,” Case said. “If you try anything, I’ll kill
your sister.  If that cop or your lover tries anything I’ll kill her.
Understand?”

     Cullinan nodded.

     Hope fixed her gaze
on the pendant lying in the grass.

She and Case, with his arm still around her
throat, walked toward the pendant, their feet shuffling through the wet grass.
The rain fell harder now. Her hair was wet and water droplets streaked down her
face, over her throat and under the collar of her coat. She shivered. She
wasn’t sure if she shook out of fear or because of the cold.

     When they stood next
to the pendant, Case stopped her. “All right, kneel. Slowly.”

     Hope bent her knees
and Case echoed her movements. Hope kept her eyes on Nick, who helplessly
watched. Hope reached out for the pendant and tried to curl her fingers around
it. Then she looked at Cullinan. He couldn’t give up when they were so close.

     Cullinan knew she
was going to try to do something because his eyes widened. Quickly, Hope dug
her fingers into the damp soil, filled her palm with dirt then threw it up and
back toward Case’s face.

     Case screamed. His
arm loosened from around her throat. She fell forward and grabbed the pendant.
Hope heard a gun shot and looked up. Nick staggered to his knees then fell to
the ground with his hand gripping the upper part of his arm. Blood flowed from
the wound.  Fear for Nick’s life rushed through her. Her entire body
shook.

     Cullinan jumped on
Case. They fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. The gun flew from
Case’s hand and slid over the edge of the cliff. Tess leapt on Case’s back and
began pounding him with her fists. Case groaned, bent his right arm and elbowed
her in the stomach. Tess fell off him, laying both hands over her stomach. She
looked at Hope, her face twisted in pain. “I’m okay. Take care of Nick.”

     Stricken with panic
and dread, Hope crawled on her knees toward Nick. In the background, she heard
the sounds of Cullinan and Case fighting. She wanted to help her brother but
Nick was bleeding and needed her help more. Blood covered Nick’s fingers where
he pressed his hand against the wound.

     Hope laid the
pendant on the ground and jerked off her coat. She wadded up one sleeve and
pressed it against the wound in his arm. Cold wind blew around her and rain
lashed her body, soaking her through to the skin but she ignored the
discomfort. Her only thoughts were for Nick, the man she loved with every ounce
of her being. Hope looked in Tess’s direction. “Go up to the church and call
for help.” Then her gaze shifted to the pendant. An unearthly glow emanated
from the white stone in the pendant’s center. She gasped at the sight. Could
the pendant possibly save Nick’s life? She at least had to try.

     Quickly, she removed
the sleeve of her coat from Nick’s arm, picked up the pendant and held it on
the wound. Nick grimaced and jerked slightly, then relaxed. His eyes blinked
open. He turned his head and looked at his arm. Immediately, the flow of blood
began to slow and a strange vapor rose from the wound. Hope removed the pendant
and watched in awe as the hole in Nick’s arm miraculously healed.

     Tess screamed.

     Hope snapped her
head around.

     Cullinan and Case
rolled over the edge of the precipice.

* * *

     A rock’s sharp edge
jabbed into Cullinan’s shoulder as he slid down the embankment. Wet leaves and
dirt sprayed into his eyes and mouth; the rough limbs of a shrub scraped over
his cheek. Bits of rock bit viciously into his skin. He closed his eyes against
the gritty, stinging sensations and clawed at Case’s hands, trying desperately
to loosen them from his arms where he held him in a death grip.

     After what seemed
like an eternity, he and Case slammed into a wide outcropping with a solid
thud. Thankfully, the momentum threw Case off Cullinan. For a moment, Cullinan
struggled to regain his breath stolen by the impact of his fall. He rolled to
his hands and knees, wiped a hand over his eyes and inhaled a wheezing breath
of rain-soaked air.

     Before Cullinan
could climb to his feet, Case, with his eyes wide with pain and his lips
twisted in a grimace of hatred, rushed him. Case grabbed him by the throat and
pushed him down to the lip of the cliff shelf. Cullinan clawed at Case’s hands
gripping his throat and fought to breathe. Darkness closed in around him and
rain pattered his face as his head dangled over the edge.

     A gunshot rang out.

     Case’s hands
loosened on Cullinan’s throat. A fleeting expression of surprise filled his
eyes before he sank in a heap on top of Cullinan. Cullinan shoved Case’s body
off him and sat up. He looked toward the top of the cliff and to his amazement
saw Morelli leaning over the edge with both hands gripping Case’s gun.

* * *

     Grabbing onto small
bushes, Cullinan climbed slowly back up the cliff side. Halfway up the cliff
the rain stopped. A foot from the top, a hand thrust into his range of vision.
Cullinan looked up into Nick’s amused gray eyes. Cullinan grasped Nick’s hand
and allowed the other man to pull him to safety. Cullinan squeezed Nick’s hand
and gave it a shake before letting go. “Thank you. I owe you one.

     Nick smirked. “You
sure as hell do.”

     Cullinan stared at
Nick’s arm, now completely healed. “How is that possible?”

     Hope held out her
hand with the pendant resting on her palm. “I used this.”

     Even covered in blood,
the stone glowed like a small moon. Reverence and wonder filled Cullinan. His
long journey had been worth it. He took the pendant from Hope’s palm. “The
pendant truly is sacred.”

     Together the four of
them walked to the church. Cullinan reached out and grasped the door handle
fashioned in the shape of a dove. With a light shove, the door creaked open.
The thick smell of incense and candle wax flowed over him. He placed his hand
on the small of Tess’s back and stepped inside followed by Nick and Hope.

     The church’s
interior was larger than he’d imagined. Simple columns were scattered
throughout the church supporting the vaulted ceiling. A large iron fixture
filled with red glass candle holders flickering overhead casting shadows over
the ancient stone walls and floor. Slowly they moved toward the altar at the
back of the church.

     Several monks
dressed in traditional robes stood in front of the altar and softly sang a
canticle. Outside, the wind moaned and sunlight beamed in through a large window
near the ceiling and washed over the monks as if God himself blessed them as
they chanted  A niche had been carved into the wall behind the altar and
in front sat a table covered in a gold and crimson cloth. In the niche lay a
large stone and over the stone an icon of a man wearing a bishop’s miter with
two gold crosses on either side. Doves graced the center of the crosses. A
surge of happiness swept through Cullinan as he drew closer to the altar with
Tess by his side.