The Curse Keepers Collection (155 page)

I leaned my head back and finished my third beer, trying to decide whether to drink another or call Conner to come get me. But Conner and I hadn’t been on the best terms over the past year, so I tossed the empty can in the cooler and grabbed another one.

I was going to have to kiss Marino’s ass again to get the money to fix the
Lucky Star
.

Conner thought I was an idiot to keep the boat, and part of me knew he was right. I claimed I kept it because it had been my grandfather’s, but even my grandmother wanted me to sell it. The truth was, even though I needed to work for Marino to finance the repairs, the boat was the only thing that gave me independence from him. Marino had his hooks set so deeply into my back there was no way I could avoid becoming his full-time lackey without a good excuse. And since I was good and stuck in the OBX—my father had been right about that; I tried leaving once and nearly suffocated to death—there was no escape. The boat was my salvation. Marino had known my father before his disappearance, so he knew I came from a long line of commercial fishermen. In fact, he’d come to me soon after my father’s disappearance, offering his financial help if I ever needed it. And like a lamb to the slaughter, I’d taken out my first loan from him during my junior year of high school. I had already quit school midyear to earn the money to pay for my mother’s medical bills and help raise my brother.

Mom had been in and out of the hospital with severe depression ever since my father’s disappearance, and Conner and I had been shuffled from one relative to the next when she wasn’t home. For some reason, my grandmother refused to watch us. But even when our mother was around, she didn’t do much to take care of us.
I
was the one who made sure Conner did his homework and stayed out of trouble. By the time I turned seventeen, I was sick and tired of her inability to be a mother to us. I insisted I could raise my brother on my own, whether she was home or hospitalized. My decision inadvertently influenced her to swallow half a bottle of sleeping pills. Her suicide note said she’d always planned to end her life. Her intention had been to wait until Conner’s high-school graduation, but my declaration of independence had accelerated her plans.

I borrowed money from Marino to pay for her funeral, sinking me deeper into his debt.

The guilt over her death had clung to me ever since.

I took a long sip of the beer, letting the cold liquid slide down my throat. Working for Marino full time was most likely inevitable. Why was I fighting it so hard? Maybe I should stop being so stubborn and give in.

Was this my destiny after all? Maybe my grandmother’s predictions were just as inaccurate as her father’s had been.

“Is that what you want?” I shouted out to the universe, my voice echoing across the even-tempered sound waves. “Do you want me to sell my soul to the devil?”

Of course there was no answer. How could I expect differently?

I tilted my head back again, focusing on the stars overhead. I’d learned the constellations to help navigate when I was out at sea. After all, given the general state of my boat, I didn’t want to put too much trust in its navigation system. My ancestors had used the stars for guidance, a fact that had fascinated me ever since my father had started our Curse Keeper lessons while out at sea. But tonight there was a star that didn’t belong. I wondered if there was a comet I wasn’t aware of, but quickly realized it didn’t have a tail. The three and a half beers must have been hitting me harder than usual because the star began to pulse, growing larger and larger.

I got to my feet, wondering if I was seeing things, but then the star exploded with a startling bright light and began to plummet to the earth. I watched in horror as I realized it was falling directly toward the
Lucky Star
. Staggering to the helm, I tried in vain to start the engine to get out of its path. When I realized I wasn’t going anywhere, I ducked for cover.

The sky filled with a blinding light, forcing me to close my eyes as I braced for some kind of impact. To my surprise, nothing happened; the light faded and the
Lucky Star
continued to gently float on the water. When I opened my eyes and stumbled onto the deck, a glowing yellow orb about two feet in diameter was waiting for me, hovering over the water several feet from the edge of the boat. I blinked, wondering what in the hell I’d been drinking, because beer had never made me hallucinate.

“Curse Keeper,” whispered a voice that could only be coming from the orb.

Terror shot down my spine as I walked to the edge of the boat. Only a handful of people knew of that title. Not that it mattered. A fucking
ball of light
was talking to me. Was this how it was for my grandmother when her lost souls spoke to her?

“Curse Keeper.” The light pulsed inside the orb and a warmth rolled from it, taking away the evening chill.

“What are you?”

“Someone who wishes to help you.”

I shook my head, narrowing my eyes with my skepticism.
“Me?”

“You are the son of the land. It has always been your destiny to be one of the Keepers of the curse.”

I took several deep breaths, swallowing the metallic taste of fear on my tongue. If everything my grandmother had taught me was to be believed, this orb could only be one of two things. The first was one of her lost souls, what most people called ghosts. Although she never gave me too many specifics, I knew not all spirits took their human form, but I’d never once heard of one appearing as a pulsing ball of light that fell from the sky. That only left one other option—Ahone, creator of humanity and creator of the curse.

Given the consequences of his visit with Manteo, I wasn’t very happy he’d chosen to visit me now, especially after his comment about my destiny. I decided to take the offensive. “What do you want, Ahone?”

“For centuries your ancestors have suffered. I wish to help you put an end to this.”

“Aren’t you the one who
caused
their suffering?” I knew I was playing with fire. He was a god. He could kill me on the spot. But the alcohol pumping through my veins tempered my restraint.

The light expanded then shrank. “No, son of the earth. I created the curse to help your people. I wanted to protect you from your enemies, so I approached Manteo and told him how to harness the power of the earth and the sea to trap the evil forces that plagued this land.”

I scoffed, feeling braver. “That’s not what I was taught.”

“You were taught many things, most of them contradictory. Your grandmother believes I tricked the first son of the earth into doing my will, while your father believed your ancestor was selfish in his quest for peace. Both are wrong, biased accounts.”

“And I’m supposed to believe your version?”

“Curse Keeper, what purpose would it serve me to lie to you?”

“What purpose does it serve you to make this little visit to me tonight?” I shot back.

The orb grew brighter and I wondered if I’d gone too far, but this thing floating in front of me was the whole reason I was stuck in this hellhole, and God help me, I struggled to hold my anger along with my tongue.

“My purpose in being here is to help you.”

“Then set me loose from this goddamned curse so I can get the hell away from this place and never look back.”

“I can grant your request.”

An invisible band cinched around my chest. This had to be a trick. “You’re telling me I don’t have to be a Curse Keeper anymore? Because I’m sure as hell not going to have any kids to carry on this legacy, and I don’t plan on dying and passing it on to my brother. Based on what I’ve been told, there’s no Option C.”

“There is one possibility you haven’t considered.”

I laughed, holding my hands out from my sides. “I’m all ears.”

“Break the curse, then seal the gate permanently.”

I did a double take. “You
want
me to break the curse?”

“Yes.”

I rubbed my eyes, trying to wrap my head around what was happening. “My father spent his whole life trying to figure out a way to break the curse. He failed.” Hell, he hadn’t even been right in thinking we’d be safe from Ahone on the ocean.

“Your father was a fool.”

There was no denying it, but part of me wondered if I should at least
try
to defend him. In the end, I didn’t have the stomach for it. “For my whole life, my grandmother has told me the Dare Keeper will seek me out to break the curse. The spirits have told her so. She’s made sure I know how to reseal the gate when the time comes.”

“Your grandmother is correct. The Dare Keeper is very strong. When the time comes, you must use all of the knowledge your grandmother has instilled in you to reseal the gate
permanently
.”

“What makes this time any different than the last? Why bother breaking the curse at all?”

“Last time Okeus tricked us all and created those marks on your palms.”

While there was nothing on my palm at the moment, my grandmother had taught me that a circle enclosed in a square would appear when the curse broke. The mark would give me power over the spirits and gods.

“It gave him and the other evil ones an out. This time there will be no escape. If you and the other Curse Keeper break the curse and use the original artifacts in the ceremony, you will have the chance to reseal the gate for good. Then you—and all of humanity—will be free forever.”

In my twenty-five years of life, I’d learned that when something sounded too good to be true, it almost always was. I couldn’t help wondering what Ahone had promised my twenty-seventh great-grandfather to get him to carry out his crime? Had Manteo also been swayed by an impossible-to-deny offer?

I cocked my head. “My grandmother says all the signs point to the curse breaking on my watch. She made me prepare. If this is going to happen anyway, why don’t I just wait until the Dare Keeper finds me?” Of course, my family predicting the breaking of the curse was a lot like Christians predicting the return of Jesus—every generation was sure they’d witness it.

“If you wait until the Dare Keeper finds you, it will be too late. She is too strong, and she grows stronger by the day. But if you find her soon, your power will be able to overcome hers. You can force her to participate in the resealing ceremony. You are the one who must save humanity.”

Fear sent icy shards through my blood. Just how powerful
was
she?

While I’d known since the beginning that the Dares had vowed to find us and not only break the curse but destroy the Manteo Keeper, when I looked at my own life, I had to wonder what there was left to destroy.

The fact that I thought of saving myself before humanity was probably a telling character flaw. Not that I gave a shit. “What’s in it for me?” I asked.

The ball pulsed for several seconds before responding. “Survival for you and your family. If you let the Dare Keeper find you first, she will destroy you all.”

I grimaced and shook my head. I didn’t trust the bastard. “I think I’ll leave well enough alone and take my chances.”

The orb burned brighter. “You have the opportunity to free yourself forever. I understand you’ve been trained to protect the curse, but you have the chance to save future generations of your family from its yoke. I will give you one month to think it over, but consider this: What will the curse do for you if you let it stand? You have far more to lose than to gain.” Then the light flashed blindingly bright and shrank to a pinpoint before disappearing.

I stared into the darkness where the light had been and asked myself if he could be right. What good did the curse do me if I let it stand? But breaking the curse was a crazy idea . . . wasn’t it?

I spent the remainder of the night out on the sound, drinking the rest of my six-pack as I gave Ahone’s suggestion serious consideration.

C
HAPTER
F
OUR

I woke slumped against the cabin, my neck aching from being bent at an odd angle, the sun glaring in my eyes. I sat up straight, remembering the crazy encounter I’d had with Ahone. Had it really happened? I’d never had such a vivid dream before, but maybe I’d passed out after drinking a few too many beers. In over four hundred years, no Manteo Keeper had ever seen or talked to Ahone, so why would he visit
me
?