The Curse Keepers Collection (146 page)

“Good. We’ll head over there, but I suspect we might be too late. He’s scared and he’s running. When a herd animal is scared, it almost always runs to its herd for protection. If we can find him, we might be able to follow him to the Guardians.”

The embers of hope kindled, but I kept the feeling contained. There were a lot of what-ifs in following him to the Guardians, and even more what-ifs in him leading us to David. And along with the hope came disappointment. One more person had hurt me. I’d trusted Steven. He’d slept in my house, and he’d convinced Myra to move to Durham. Did he intend to hurt her? My head swam with questions and overwhelming heartache. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.

I turned to look at Collin, now unsure about everything. If I couldn’t trust Steven, who could I trust? I stopped on the sidewalk and someone bumped into my back. I stumbled forward as Collin took several more steps before realizing I wasn’t with him.

He turned around, a quizzical look on his face. “Ellie?”

Would Collin betray me again too? I was far from certain that I could handle it if he did.

He closed the distance between us, searching my face. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I trust you?”

Confusion flickered in his eyes along with something else. Anger? Disappointment? He grabbed my right hand and cradled it between both of his, the mark on my palm tingling from the proximity to Collin’s.

I tried to pull away, but he held me in place.

“Collin, if you plan to betray me in any way tonight, whether it’s out of your control or not, just leave me here and I’ll find my own way back to Manteo.” My voice broke.

His face softened. “Ellie.”

Tears filled my eyes. “I’m letting you get close to me again, and if you go behind my back to help Okeus or someone else, I don’t think I can take it. It will destroy me. So
please
, Collin, I beg you, if that’s what you’re doing, just leave me here.”

He shook his head. “No. I promise you, I’m supporting you all the way in this thing. I won’t trick you or betray you.” He grabbed my shoulders and tipped his face down to mine. “I know the fact that Steven is part of this is screwing with your head. And if he had anything to do with your mother’s involvement—I know it’s making you doubt everything. I don’t blame you, but I swear to you, Ellie, that I will never again do anything to intentionally hurt you.” His hand cupped my face, tilting it up to him. “I finally realize where my real priorities lie.”

A fire of lust spread through my body and it took all my willpower not to stand on my tiptoes and kiss him. But if I was asking Collin not to betray me, I owed the same to David. I took a step back and Collin’s hands fell to his sides.

“Let’s see if we can find Steven and have him lead us to David.” Then he turned and started walking again, leaving me to follow.

Why did I have the feeling that I was now betraying Collin?

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
OUR

Steven wasn’t home when we got there. I wasn’t surprised, but the disappointment was heavier than I’d expected it to be. With no other leads, there was nothing left to do except go back to Manteo.

We were both quiet as we left Steven’s neighborhood, and the morning had exhausted me. Collin stopped somewhere in Durham to pick up an early lunch, and I fell asleep as soon as we got back in the car. I didn’t wake up until I heard Collin’s voice.

“Ellie, we’re here.”

I blinked and looked around, confused that we were parked on the side of the road and surrounded by sand dunes. “Where?”

“Pea Island. I thought it might be more private here.”

“The beach?”

“Yeah.”

It was a good choice. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t thought of it before. Pea Island Wildlife Refuge was only a fifteen-minute drive from Nags Head, but it wasn’t as touristy.

He got out of the truck and I followed his lead, meeting him at the front of the vehicle. “If we hike over the dunes here, we’ll be close to the ocean.”

I kicked off my Vans and carried them in my hand as we climbed a tall sand dune. I could hear and smell the ocean before I saw it. I stopped at the top and took in the view, surprised and elated that just the sight of the ocean could energize me.

Collin had taken several steps down the other side, but he stopped to look back, his face filled with worry.

I started down, the call of the ocean irresistible. Once I was at the bottom of the dune, I passed him, dropped my shoes on the sand about ten feet from the tidal edge, then waded out into the water. Collin stayed on the shore behind me as a surge of power rushed through my body and I once again experienced the familiar yet always intoxicating sensation of the Manitou of every living thing in the ocean. My eyes sank closed as I gave myself to the moment, letting the vibrant life force remind me of what was really at stake. Not just David or me or Collin; not even just the fate of humanity. As Tsagasi said, the fate of every being in creation was in danger. I wasn’t sure what Okeus and Ahone had planned, but I had no doubt that it risked all of us.

I walked deeper into the water, my eyes still closed, unaware of how long I had been there until I sensed Collin in front of me, taking my hand in his before I could think to stop him.

His feelings surged through me, his love, his need to prove that I could trust him. Without thinking, I moved closer to him until I was plastered against his chest. The other half of the Manitou joined with the half I had already experienced. The animals and the plants of the land flooded my head, and while I should have been overwhelmed, I felt nearly complete instead.

I looked up into his face, and the tenderness there caught my breath. His free hand reached for my cheek and his mouth lowered to mine, but then he stopped. “I want you to trust me, Ellie. With everything else you have to worry about, I don’t want this doubt to distract you. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

His hand let go of mine and I stumbled. He wrapped an arm around my back and held me against him for several seconds. To finally be able to trust him was an amazing gift.

Collin offered me a grim smile. “Now let’s get ready to save David.”

We were quiet as we walked back to the truck, but I was amazed by how much the power of the ocean had helped me regain all my strength. I knew I’d need every bit of it and then some to survive the night.

There was so much against us, not just the Guardians and the challenge of getting David back, but the Raven Mockers and the gods. Okeus’s offer, Ahone’s plans. Part of me was weary of the whole mess. I had no idea how to fight them all. The best course of action was to deal with them one at a time. Which meant facing the Guardians first.

My cell phone rang as we headed back to Manteo. Tom was on the other end. I plugged my other ear with my finger to hear the call over the wind rushing through the windows.

“Ellie, there were four more deaths last night.”

“I’m on my way back, Tom.”

“Are you any closer to finding who’s in charge of these things?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I hadn’t even had the chance to look. “No. I’m still working on it.”

“We can’t tell everyone in town to put salt on their thresholds, Ellie.”

“I don’t know what else to tell you, Tom,” I snapped.

Collin shot a curious look in my direction.

“Look, I’m doing the best I can. David went to see the Ricardo collection and they kidnapped him.”

“What did the police in Charlotte say?”

“We didn’t call them.” Funny how I’d never even considered it as an option.

There was a pause. “Dr. Preston was kidnapped and you didn’t think to call the police? What the hell, Ellie?”

I cringed. “Tom, you know that I can’t tell the police about any of this crap. Calling the police is at the bottom of my list of resources.”

“Were they humans?” When I didn’t answer, he continued. “You should have called the police.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if he was right. “We’re getting him back.” I shifted my gaze to Collin.

He shook his head, his mouth pursed.

“How?” Tom asked, sounding skeptical.

Even without Collin’s warning, I had no intention of giving Tom any information. “Don’t worry about it. We have it under control.”

“You keep saying ‘we.’ Who’s we? Collin? Is he working with you now?”

“The less you know the better, Tom.” I quickly ended the conversation, cursing myself for telling him anything about David. But then I wondered if I should have told him more. The Guardians were human. The police could deal with them, but then again a secret society didn’t last hundreds of years by acting stupid. If I involved Tom, it could get him killed.

“What do you want to do?” Collin asked. “It’s seven thirty. I think we should get something to eat and then head to the aquarium and scope it out. We need all the advantage we can get.”

I was letting Collin take charge again, but I didn’t have a better plan. And disagreeing for the sake of being in control was stupid. “Okay.”

Collin stopped at a gas station and filled up the tank while I went inside and bought a couple of deli sandwiches, chips, and water. We drove in silence as we ate our food.

My phone rang as Collin pulled into the aquarium lot. When I dug it out of my pocket, I wasn’t surprised to see Claire’s number on the screen.

“Claire—”

“My ghost is freaking out, Ellie.”

Fear shot through my chest. “What are you talking about?”

“She says you’re in danger. So much danger.”

My mouth went dry and I swallowed. “Hold on, Claire. I’m going to put you on speaker so we can both talk to you.” I pressed the speaker button, then held the phone next to me.

“Who? You and David?”

Oh, God. She didn’t know. I’d spent most of yesterday unconscious, so I hadn’t had a chance to check in with her. “No. Me and Collin.”

“Collin? Where’s David?” She sounded panicked.

“The people who have the collection kidnapped him.”

“Oh, my God, Ellie!”

“Collin and I are in the process of getting him back.” I had to believe we’d be successful.

“No wonder Mary’s so upset.”

“Mary?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah, I finally got a name out of her even though she’s still not coming through clearly and she gets pissed when I call her that. Do you have any relatives named Mary? That perhaps went by a
nickname
?” Judging from her mocking inflection, I gathered that the ghost must have been close to her.

“Uh . . . ” I rubbed my temple. “I had a great-aunt Mary who went by Bitty.” Why were we discussing my relatives when I needed to prepare to save David? We had absolutely no plan at all. This was going to backfire and get all three of us killed.

“Maybe that’s her.” Claire seemed relieved. “Aunt Bitty says you’re in danger. Especially David.”

“Then the crazy-ass ghost of Great-Aunt Bitty is Captain Obvious,” Collin muttered. “He’s been kidnapped and they’ve threatened to kill him. That’s about as dangerous as it gets.”

I shot Collin a scowl. I didn’t need the sarcasm, and I certainly didn’t need the reminder of the gravity of David’s situation.

“Aunt Bitty says you need the ring, but not how you think.”

My gaze locked with Collin’s. “How do I need it?” I asked.

“Each time she tries to tell me, the words are garbled.” I could hear the frustration behind her voice.

“If you find out, will you let me know?”

“Of course.” Claire paused. “Ellie, there’s one more thing. The blackness surrounding your house has gotten worse in just the last hour. And it keeps getting blacker and blacker.”

My stomach twisted. “What does it mean?”

“Evil.”

I hung up and stared at the phone.

Collin’s eyes narrowed. “Do you really trust a crazy-ass ghost?”

I gave him a wry smile. “Okeus says I can.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, if Okeus says so . . . We know how trustworthy
he
is.” He opened the truck door and moved to the tailgate and climbed onto the bed.

I got out and followed him. Talk about a total about-face. Only a few days ago he was trying to convince me that Okeus was the way, the truth, and the life.