The Curse Keepers Collection (110 page)

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the chair. “The memory is there. I can feel it, but when I try to remember, it’s like I’m reaching for water that’s running through my fingers.”

“After your mom died, I mentioned something about the voices I heard, and you looked at me like I was crazy. I figured you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“No, Claire. I don’t remember it at all. It disappeared with all memories of the curse. I don’t even remember Momma taking a phone call or getting upset. Before my dreams and everything started to come back, the only thing I remember about that day is that I told you about the curse while we were sitting under the oak tree at the side of the house.”

“So you really
didn’t
remember me telling you about the voices?”

I shook my head.

Her eyes widened. “I can see you forgetting everything about the curse, but why would you forget the other things? Was it trauma, or something else?”

“I don’t know.”

“Ellie, she said something else before she disappeared.”

Oh, lord. After seeing the old woman last night and finding out that Claire could see ghosts, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. “What?”

“She said, ‘You have to help her.’ ”

“What does that mean?” My voice rose. I was starting to panic and I didn’t even know why.

“You
know
what it means.” She leaned forward. “And why are you freaking out?”

“I don’t know.” I stood up and reached for the doorknob. “Let’s get started. I need to finish up here soon so I can get home to David.”

Claire followed me inside, where the emptiness of the apartment was still a shock to my system. “Ellie, why are you running away from this?”

I spun around and glared at her. “Why did you wait almost two weeks to tell me?”

“I was worried about how you would react.”

“Why?”

She waved her hand at me. “Maybe this is why.”

My anger faded and my shoulders slumped.

“Ellie, talk to me. Why are you freaking out?”

“I’m scared, Claire. I’m scared for you. If something happens to you—”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

I shook my head, my anger resurfacing. “You don’t know that! The more involved you are, the more at risk you are.”

Claire closed the distance between us and grabbed my arms. “Ellie, I’m not going anywhere.” Her eyebrows rose in mock surprise when I gasped. “What? You don’t think I can see what you’re doing? First sending Myra to Durham—”

“Myra wanted to go to Durham!”

“Don’t tell me that you weren’t happy to send her off.”

Tears stung my eyes. “How can you say that? I love Myra.”

“I know you do! And the way I said it came out wrong. I know you were trying to protect her, but I also know you’ve been trying to figure out how to distance yourself from me too.”

“I love you, Claire. I have to protect you.”

She shook her head. “Maybe I’m supposed to protect
you
. Just like David’s trying to do. We’re not Curse Keepers, but we have other ways of helping. And don’t get it into your head that we’re not meant to be involved. What do you think, that the professor whose help you were seeking just
happened
to show up in Manteo to work at the colony site? That I just
happened
to hear ghosts who know about you and your role as Curse Keeper?”

My mouth moved like a fish trying to breathe as I struggled with what to say.

“Things happen for a reason, Ellie. Yeah, Collin-fucking-Dailey won’t help you, but that doesn’t mean you have to be alone. Maybe
we’re
meant to help you.”

I shook my head, trying to make sense of her words. “How?”

“You need to listen to me. I’m telling you that you shouldn’t be living in that house. There’s a darkness there.”

Sweat prickled the back of my neck. “I thought you just heard voices?”

Her face softened. “That was when I was little . . . now I can see things too. Like that ghost. Something changed after we got home from Charleston. Whenever I look at the house, it’s covered in a hazy darkness.”

“You’re scaring me, Claire.”

“
Good.
You should be scared. There’s something dark in that house. Maybe that’s why you’ve felt uncomfortable there since the curse broke. It’s because you shouldn’t be there at all.”

I knew there was some truth to what she said. Ever since the curse broke, I’d felt something bad in the house, mostly in my bedroom. But over the last week, I had felt something ominous in
both
houses. As long as David or someone else was with me, I could handle it. But I couldn’t bear to be there alone. “What am I supposed to do? I gave up my apartment. I have nowhere else to go.”

“Ellie, you’re about to lose the house anyway. Find somewhere else to live. And whatever you do, don’t stay there without David.” Claire hesitated. “She says you need him.”

“
Who
says I need him?”

She sucked in her top lip. “I see ghosts all the time now. When you asked me what I saw outside that other apartment just now, it was a ghost. An old guy wandering around in his bathrobe, holding a newspaper and a cup of coffee.”

My eyes widened. “Mr. Murphy. He liked to walk around in his robe. He died about two weeks after I moved in here. That was four years ago.” I took a deep breath. Why was this freaking me out? After everything else I’d seen, ghosts should have been nothing.

“He’s pissed that someone is living in his apartment. He says she doesn’t keep it clean enough.”

I stared at Claire, wide-eyed. “How many do you see?”

“Some days one or two. Yesterday I saw ten.”

“And you’re not scared?”

“No. Unlike your demons, the ghosts seem harmless. But not all of them are fully formed. Some are blobs—kind of like when we saw Kanim. From what I can tell, the longer they’ve been dead, the more I can see of them.”

“And the ghost that thinks I need David? Can you see her?”

“No. She’s a blur, not even a blob yet. She started making sounds a few days ago, and yesterday was the first time I could string the words together. But I’ve figured out enough to know that she’s worried about you and wants you to leave.”

“How do you even know you can trust the voices, Claire? What if this person is somehow working with Okeus?”

“I just know that we can. Call it instinct.”

I headed for the kitchen and started opening cabinets to make sure they were empty. “Well, then you must be happy that David and I are heading to Chapel Hill for the weekend.”

“Relieved.” She leaned her hands on the bar. “Then you can find somewhere else to live when you get back.”

A movement in the open front door caught my attention.

“Why are we looking for somewhere else to live?” David asked.

I bugged my eyes at Claire in warning, then turned to face David. “What are you doing here?”

“I missed you.” He moved toward me with a mischievous grin. “I wondered what was taking you so long, and then I saw the empty bottles on the porch.”

“Busted,” Claire said with a laugh.

David pulled me into a hug. “I figured I’d come and help, and then we can grab something to eat before heading back.” He looked over my head at Claire. “And why do we need to find somewhere else to live? And no, I’m not so easily veered off topic.”

I’d discovered that firsthand when David started asking questions about the marks on my door a month ago.

She glanced from my pleading face to David’s. “Oh, you know. It has to be difficult for Ellie to live in the house where she grew up.”

“You mean the house where she suffered a horrible trauma?” David was quiet for several seconds when Claire didn’t give him an answer. “We’ll definitely keep that in mind. Now what do we need to do to finish up here?”

We spent the next half hour cleaning. When we were done, I stood in the doorway and spent a moment surveying the only place that had ever been completely mine. I had to wonder if Claire was right. I knew I should tell David the whole story—that she
wanted
me to tell him—but there was someone I needed to talk to first. I hadn’t seen him in weeks, and just the thought of it made me nervous.

Before I left for Chapel Hill, I needed to talk to Collin.

C
HAPTER
T
HREE

The next morning I texted Collin. It felt wrong and underhanded, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Although I had a hard time convincing myself of that fact since I was hiding my plan from David. We had promised not to keep secrets from each other. I justified my decision by telling myself that I’d tell David everything after I talked to Collin. For some reason, I felt the need to get his take on the situation before putting it out in the open. If Claire really could see ghosts, if they really did want her to help me, it might be a game changer.

Of course, I ran the very real risk of Collin refusing to tell me anything at all. But he knew much more than I did about demons and spirits, and his expertise in the supernatural might extend to ghosts. It was worth asking.

I composed the text after I put two breakfast casseroles in the oven and quickly sent it before I could change my mind.

Something’s come up. I need to talk to you as soon as possible.

I wasn’t sure the last part of the second sentence was necessary, but I wanted answers before we left for Chapel Hill later in the afternoon.

David walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Is Becky okay with running the inn this weekend?”

I shoved my phone into my jeans pocket. “Yeah. She’s happy to do it. She really likes the added responsibility.”

He kissed me and then looked around the kitchen. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Nope. Got it under control. It’s not so humid this morning. If you want, you can take your coffee out to the front porch before you leave for work.”

His forehead wrinkled. “And leave you in here working? Not likely. Besides, I’ll have plenty of time outside today.” He sat on a stool in the corner and studied me for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about what Claire said. Have you called Myra yet to arrange a time to meet her?”

“No,” I murmured, not looking at him. “I haven’t had a chance.” But that wasn’t why I hadn’t called. Considering the way she’d been brushing me off lately, I was worried how she would react to a suggested visit. What if she’d decided she preferred her new life without me? I wasn’t sure I could bear it.

“And Claire said a lot of things,” I said, wiping a counter and avoiding eye contact. My guilt over texting Collin was already eating at me. “Especially after Drew joined us for dinner and she and I split a bottle of wine.”

“I really like Drew. He seems like a good bloke.”

“Yeah, I like him too. We’ve been friends for even longer than Claire and me. Did you know that Drew’s had a crush on Claire since she first moved to town in the third grade?”

“You’ve mentioned that about ten times, and I’m talking about when Claire said we should find somewhere else to live.” He quirked an eyebrow before taking a sip of his coffee. “I’m on to you, love. I know when you’re trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.”

I rested my butt against the counter to watch him. “She’s just being a protective best friend.”

“I know. But I can’t help wondering if she’s right.”

I released a heavy sigh. “David.”

“No, hear me out. I know you hate your bedroom, but we’re staying in there anyway since you refuse to invade Myra’s room. Let’s give the boarders notice, search the house from top to bottom again, then put the property up for sale.”

My muscles tensed. “You want me to give up on it just like that?”

He cringed. “I didn’t mean to put it so flippantly.”

“This house has belonged to my family for over one hundred years. My father did everything he could to save it. What would he think of me if I just left?”

“Ellie, the way I see it, you have two choices: you can either be an innkeeper or you can be the Curse Keeper. The inn is a distraction for you. You constantly worry about money and making sure the guests are happy. It’s draining you. You can’t deny it.”