The Curse Keepers Collection (14 page)

The glass shattered, blowing into the room while my gauzy curtains flapped like crazy. A voice called out, “Daughter of the sea, present yourself.”

“No fucking way!” I shouted, jumping off the bed and hiding beside the mattress. I really needed to find out about this daughter of the sea title.

“Okeus has a message for you.”

I peered over the side of the bed. A dark, hazy image hovered outside my window. “I can hear you just fine from here.”

“Okeus offers you riches beyond measure if you pledge yourself to him.”

I always wondered how tempted I’d be by something like this, but in this case, it was an easy decision. “I have a message for Okeus—no thank you.”

“Stupid human. To defy Okeus is death.”

“Well I heard that siding with Okeus is eternal death. So no thank you.”

“Ahone.” The name was uttered as a curse word. “You are foolish to listen to a god so weak he does nothing but hide in the heavens. Okeus is strong and rewards those who are loyal to his cause. Ahone will give you nothing.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

The spirit pushed through the opening in the window into the room and shot in front of me, releasing a high-pitched scream resembling the cry of a dinosaur from
Jurassic Park
. “You have until the eve of the seventh day to decide, and if you do not choose Okeus, he will demand retribution. I will visit you again to seek your decision.”

And then the spirit was gone.

I huddled next to my bed for several minutes, shaking so hard I couldn’t even stand if I wanted to.

The wind howled outside and the curtains flapped against the wall. While the markings on the door had worked, the window was obviously unprotected. I either needed to learn the symbols or get Collin to mark the windows. The latter was an alternative of last resort.

One thing was for sure—I wasn’t sleeping in my bedroom. I grabbed my pillow and laptop and headed into the living room, moving my big chair in front of my bedroom door. I had little faith it would hold out a spirit, but it was better than nothing.

After I got settled on the sofa, it took me a long time before I could go to sleep. My palm itched and my dreams were filled with animals, all crying out, “Daughter of the sea, witness to creation, help us.”

C
HAPTER
T
EN

I was awake before the sun came up, and I really needed to pee. But I had to go through my room to get to the bathroom, and there was no way I was going into my room until the sun made an appearance. After I finally unbarricaded the door and took care of my bathroom business, I inspected the damage to my room. The lower windowpane had completely shattered, scattering glass everywhere. When I saw the dead hawk at the foot of my bed, I shrieked and jumped backward. I needed to get control of myself, clean up the mess, and get to the inn.

My downstairs neighbor didn’t appreciate the vacuum cleaner running at six in the morning. The thumping on the floor clued me in. After covering the window with plastic from a dry-cleaner bag, I scooped the bird into another bag and opened the front door to put it on my porch. The dead birds in a circle outside my door shouldn’t have surprised me, but I was preoccupied with my current situation. Today’s warning had four blackbirds, two robins, and a cardinal in the center. Four days left.

After I swept up the birds, I stopped to examine the symbols on the door. They were incredibly primitive and looked like they’d been drawn in charcoal or chalk. Wavy lines and circles surrounded the perimeter. I needed to write them down so I could draw them on my window.

I took a shower and towel dried my hair before French braiding it and getting dressed, throwing on a flouncy blue skirt with tiny white flowers and a white sleeveless buttoned blouse. I loved that skirt and it always put me in a better mood when I had a bad day. I hoped it worked today because I needed all the help I could get.

I decided to go to the Dare Inn. It was too early to tidy up the lodgers’ rooms, but I could fold the towels from the afternoon before and help Myra with breakfast. Just before I headed out the door, I grabbed my backpack. Daddy’s house was full of antiques, and I was sure I could find something there to sell. Myra and I had never discussed selling them to help keep the inn afloat. Perhaps because dismantling the contents was too similar to the way Daddy’s mind was deconstructing. We needed something to stay the same.

Regret and guilt stuck my feet to the floor. I couldn’t believe I was considering stealing from my parents, but if Daddy were coherent, I knew he’d give me whatever I needed to reseal the gate. Not that I’d ever admit to pawning the cup.

Myra was in the kitchen in the residential house, pulling a breakfast casserole out of the oven when I walked in. “What are you doing here already?” She glanced at me and her forehead wrinkled with worry. “And you obviously didn’t sleep well. You look exhausted, Ellie.”

I grabbed a blueberry muffin from a basket and peeled off the wrapper. “What gave me away? The fact I’m a couple hours early or the dark circles under my eyes?” I took a bite and gave her a tight grin.

She moved toward me and put a hand on my arm. “What’s going on, Ellie? Is it this curse stuff?”

I loved Myra. She might not have given birth to me, but she’d mothered me longer than my own mother had. Myra and Momma shared something else in common besides their love for Daddy and me: their outright disapproval of the curse. Poor Myra hadn’t found out about the curse until she and Daddy were married at least a year, when she’d stumbled upon Daddy and me arguing about my refusal to relearn the curse facts. She’d taken my side and slept in the spare bedroom for a week. I never heard her and Daddy talk about it again until he started showing signs of Alzheimer’s.

Telling Myra what was going on wouldn’t do any good. She’d think I’d lost my mind like Daddy, especially after my own belligerence over the curse all these years. And for all I knew, telling her would put her in danger as well.

I kissed her cheek and moved around her toward the laundry room. “I’m fine. Stop worrying so much.”

“Ellie?”

I stopped in the doorway and turned toward her, hiding the fear blooming in my chest.

“I know the inn has been hard for you. You work here every day and then you put money into it—”

“Myra, stop.”

“You don’t have to do it. We’ll probably lose this place anyway.”

I’d known that for a while, and since Myra handled all the books, she had to know it too, but this was the first time she’d admitted it.

“I know.”

“You know?” Tears filled her eyes. “And you do it anyway?”

My chin trembled. “Myra, I love you and I love Daddy. I’ll do anything for either of you. This included.” I spun around to get the towels.

“I’m considering selling.”

Sighing, I leaned into the door frame, but kept my back to her. I couldn’t face her. Face the proof that I’d failed her and Daddy. The inn had been owned by our family for over a hundred and fifty years, and it was up to me to make sure it stayed that way. But I couldn’t figure out how to do it, no matter how hard I tried. “Don’t do that, Myra. Just hang on a bit longer.”

“It’s not fair to you. I see you and how exhausted . . . ” Her voice broke. “You’re young. You should have fun instead of—”

I rushed to her and pulled her into an embrace. “Stop, Myra. This is my home too, even if I don’t live here. Too much is happening right now to make a decision this big. Don’t think about selling yet. All these tourists will bring more business. Things might turn around. Just wait and see how everything turns out.” If the curse wasn’t fixed, I’d pack Daddy and Myra into my own car and get them the hell out of here if I had to. We wouldn’t be anywhere around Roanoke, in the line of fire.

Something in my tone caught her attention. She pulled back and looked into my eyes. “What do you mean wait and see how everything turns out?”

I resisted the urge to sigh. I was tired and not thinking straight. I needed to watch what I said. I forced a grin. “Wait and see if I win the lottery.”

“You don’t buy lottery tickets.”

“Not yet I don’t.” I headed back to the laundry room. “But I’m feeling lucky today.” I hoped to God that was true.

She was gone when I came out with the towels. I perched the basket on my hip and headed for the front porch. It was almost seven thirty, and the bed and breakfast guests would be coming down to eat before they left for the day or checked out.

I found Daddy on the porch, rocking in his chair. He wasn’t usually there in the morning. Myra often had him sit in the office with her, watching TV, but she must have known I’d want to see him.

I loved her all the more for it.

“Hey, Daddy.” I sat in the rocker next to him and plopped the basket on the floor.

His gazed lifted, confusion flickering in his eyes.

My vision blurred with tears, and I turned my attention to the towels and swallowed the burning lump in my throat. He wasn’t my daddy today. When I could talk, I forced a cheerful voice. “It’s a beautiful morning, isn’t it?”

“The curse is broken.”

My hands stopped midair, holding a partially folded towel. I set it in my lap and looked into his face. “Yes.”

His jaw quivered. “I have to save Ellie. I have to keep her safe from the evil spirits with the words of protection. I have to find the other Keeper.” He started to get out of his chair, his voice rising in fear.

Words of protection? Were there words to help me protect myself? I got up and eased him back in the chair. “Daddy, it’s okay. You’re not the Keeper anymore.”

He shook his head and arms violently, trying to throw off my hands. “Who are you? Where’s my baby? I have to save my baby!”

I was used to his regressions, when he thought I was a child again. But that didn’t buffer the pain and disappointment that pierced my heart with each occurrence. This time was too much. Collin, the spirits last night, the realization that I’d lost the one thing I needed to make this all stop, but most of all knowing that I’d truly failed my father both with the curse and the inn, all piled onto the fact that Daddy was near hysterical and there was nothing I could do about it. Tears flooded my cheeks.

I sucked in a breath. “John, it’s okay.” Part of me died every time I had to call him by his given name, but calling him Daddy when he was like this only made him more agitated. “Ellie’s safe.”

This calmed him a bit, and he searched my face. “Is she with Amanda?”

I couldn’t contain my sob. He thought Momma was still alive. “Yes.”

He shook his head, his eyes wild. “No! You’re lying! Amanda’s dead! Get away from me! You’re an evil spirit!” He began to mumble something in a language I didn’t understand.

He was using the words of protection.

I listened closely, forcing myself to calm down so I could get the words, but he was too upset and the words too unfamiliar to grasp.

Myra appeared in the doorway, concern on her face when she took in the sight of my father and my tear-streaked face. “It’s the curse, isn’t it?”

I nodded, a fresh batch of tears falling.

She gently pushed me to the side and squatted in front of Daddy. “John, it’s okay. Ellie’s safe. I’ve hidden her from the spirits using the protection symbols you showed me. She’s safe.”

He relaxed in his chair, but tensed when he realized I was still there. “A spirit is here.”

“No, John. That’s my friend, Elinor. She’s helping me with the inn today.”

I couldn’t take any more. I grabbed the basket and went back into the house, collapsing onto the sofa, bawling into the overstuffed cushions.

Several minutes later, Myra’s soft voice was in my ear. “Ellie, I’m so sorry.” She sat next to me, caressing the back of my head. “I know how hard it is when you see him like that.”

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm down, and wiped my cheeks. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“You’re not. Go home. Take the day off. We’ll manage fine without you here.”

I wished I could take the day completely off. Go lay out at the beach like Claire and I used to do before life got in the way and threw responsibility at us. But I had Curse Keeper work to do today. I had to save the world, as absurd as it seemed. “What did you mean when you told Daddy that you’d hidden me away with symbols?”