The Curse Keepers Collection (99 page)

“Never.”

Ilena rammed her body into the mast and the rope ladder shook. My foot slipped from its rung, and I clung to the ladder as the mast shook again and began to tilt over the dock.

“Ellie!” Collin shouted.

Ukinim laughed, swinging his claws, but I jerked out of the way and skittered back down the pole, reaching for a rope ladder attached to another mast. Grabbing hold of it, I crouched on the wood beam and leaped for the nearby pole, sliding and fighting for purchase as my legs became tangled in the ropes. At least I was back over the ship.

My relief was short-lived. Ilena hit the new mast and I screamed as my hands slipped, my legs still entwined in the ropes. I now dangled upside down over the deck, just barely out of Ilena’s grasp.

“
Ukinim
.” Collin sounded desperate. “Let her go or I’ll be forced to destroy you.”

The badger swung his head around, his red eye glowing even brighter. “All the spirits know you aren’t a threat. That’s why they leave you alone. For now. If you do this, you will be as much of a target as she is.”

“Listen to me!” Collin shouted in frustration. “Don’t you see that if you kill her, Okeus will hunt you to the ends of the earth to make you pay?”

Ilena laughed. “Don’t you think he knows that? He doesn’t care.”

Collin shot me a worried glance as I pulled myself up and fumbled to free my legs from the lines.

Ukinim slinked over the bridge onto the boat and laughed. “I’m going to send you straight to Popogusso, Curse Keeper.”

“Don’t waste your time,” I said, finally freeing myself. “My Manitou belongs to Ahone now.”

Ilena rammed the mast and the wood cracked, the pole leaning over the front end of the ship. I struggled to keep my hold.

The clouds rolled and lightning struck the lighthouse on the other side of the bay, the building erupting into flames.

“Ellie!” Collin shouted. “Start your words of protection.”

“No! If I send them away, they’ll just come back.”

“
Trust me
.”

Two words, so simple but so elusive. I would have given anything to trust Collin, but he’d proven himself untrustworthy time and again. Still, he’d always gone out of his way to protect me. I knew he’d do it this time too. Wasn’t that why he was here?

Collin took a running leap onto the ship.

Ukinim’s feet gripped the pole, and he started inching up toward me.

I lifted my hand, but it was too late. Even if I started my words of protection, Ukinim would get me before I could stop him.

A bright, warm light appeared toward the shore, and I gasped. A golden deer appeared on the dock. Every part of him glowed, including the massive antlers on his head.

The badgers stopped their pursuit and turned toward the creature.

“A
wutapantam
,” Collin said beneath me, his voice a combination of awe and grief.

“What is it?” I struggled to catch my breath. The animal was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.

“A sacrificial deer.”

Tears welled in my eyes.

The badgers crawled to the edge of the ship while the deer watched, its head lifted high.

“Ellie.” Collin stood about six feet below me. He lifted his hands up. “Jump while it distracts them. They won’t be able to resist its lure.”

The badgers were mesmerized, and they moved as if in slow motion across the gangplank toward the dock.

Collin reached for me as I dropped, his arm wrapping around my waist to keep me from falling to my knees.

My palm felt like it was on fire as the badgers advanced on the deer. “Collin! We can’t let them kill it!”

“It’s too late. It doesn’t want to be saved.” His words were filled with agony.

Ilena circled the deer, but Ukinim stopped and shook his head, releasing a low growl. “I won’t fall for Ahone’s trickery.” He spun around to face us, lowering his nose to the wooden slats. His red eye burned bright.

Collin wrapped his left arm around the small of my back, his fingers digging into my waist as he pulled me against his chest.

Ilena pounced on the deer, throwing it to the dock and ripping its abdomen apart.

I felt the loss as a crushing pain in my chest, and my knees buckled.

Ukinim arched his back as he prepared to leap back onto the ship.

Collin’s body tensed and his hand tightened on my side. “Put your arm around my back.” He was already reaching his right hand toward mine.

“I don’t know what to do, Collin.”

“Yes, you do. You’re the witness to creation. You’ve known all along.” He pressed our marks together, and power greater than anything I’d yet experienced jolted through my body and Collin’s. The presence of the Manitou was stronger than ever, and they were all grieving the death of the
wutapantam
.

Collin pulled me closer to his chest, guiding our pressed hands over our heads.

Fear stole my breath as Ukinim pounced at us. I cringed, releasing a shriek as Collin held me in place, but the badger hit an invisible shield—just like on the night of the ceremony. My gaze jerked up to Collin. He was right. I did know what to do.

“
I am the daughter of the sea . . .
”

Collin’s eyes bore into mine.

“
Born of the essence present at the beginning of time and the end of the world
.”

My vortex appeared.

“
I am the son of the earth, born of space and heaven.
” His face grave, he nodded to me.

“
I am black water and crystal streams. The ocean waves and the raindrops in the sky
.” I stopped and looked up into his eyes.

Lightning shot through the air and the wind gusted. I struggled to stand, but Collin helped me remain upright.

“
I am black earth and sandy loams.
The mountain ranges and the rolling hills.
”

My voice grew louder. “
I am life and death and everything in between
.”

“
I am the foundation of life and the receiver of death and everything in between
.”

Our blended voices echoed off the water. “
I compel you to leave my sight
.”

A crack appeared in the sky, ripping the seam between our realm and the spiritual one. The badgers screamed and cursed. The ground shook and the boat swayed violently, but Collin spread his feet apart and stayed upright, our hands still joined.

Rays of bright white light shot from the badgers’ bodies, filling the boat and nearly blinding me. The creatures shrieked with agony and fear until their bodies exploded in a ball of white light. Then a million pieces that looked like fireflies were sucked up into the crack overhead. When all the pieces were gone, Collin looked down into my face, fear and devastation in his eyes.

He slowly pulled his hand from mine but kept his arm around my back. “Do you even realize what just happened?”

I swallowed the lump in throat, my chin trembling. “I’m not sure about the
wutapantam
, but we sent the badgers away.”

“Yes,” he whispered. “We sent them away. But at what cost? A
wutapantam
sacrificed himself
for you
. Do you even understand the significance of
that
?”

I didn’t know for sure, but the loss I’d felt at its death had left me dazed.

“There are
four
, Ellie. Four in all of existence, and one is now gone because of what you started tonight.”

Tears burned my eyes. “I didn’t know, Collin,” I choked out. “I saw Daddy when we were in the ocean and he insisted that I had to do this tonight.”

He shook his head, disgust pinching his mouth. “He told you what Ahone wanted you to hear, Ellie! He tricked you into doing what he wanted. Just like he tricked Manteo.”

My mouth opened, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“We’ve both learned something tonight,” Collin said. “
None
of the gods are to be trusted. We’re all pawns in an eons-old power struggle, and both sides will sacrifice
everything
and
everyone
at their disposal to get what they want, including their own creations. The Croatan and the colonists. Manteo and Ananias.”

My chin trembled. “You and me.”

He swallowed, lifting his hand to my cheek, longing in his eyes. “Especially you and me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We are responsible for destroying three creations tonight. For eternity.”

I shook my head and jerked out of his grasp. “I’m devastated about the deer, but I’m not sorry about the badgers. That’s what we’re supposed to
do
, Collin. We’re supposed to send those things back where they belong. That’s our job! We’re
Curse Keepers
.”

Sadness filled his eyes. “We earned new titles tonight.
Destroyers of life
.”

“They thought nothing of condemning innocent lives to Popogusso, so why should we feel sorry for them? They were going to kill
us
, Collin.”

“No, Ellie. They were going to kill
you
.” He paused. “And they wouldn’t have stopped until they succeeded.” He looked toward the town, sirens blaring in the distance. “I’m not sorry we destroyed them. I couldn’t let them kill you. But we crossed a line we can never uncross. There’s a good chance that we just declared war on Okeus’s demons. My only hope is that they see the badgers as enemies of Okeus and think we did them a favor.” He turned back to me. “But even so, they’ll no longer trust me.”

“Your allegiance to Okeus protects you.”

He shook his head. “Not necessarily anymore. Not after this.”

“So what happens next?”

“We stay on guard and wait to see if they attack us. They won’t kill
you
, not unless they’ve gone rogue like the badgers. Okeus still wants you.”

Like that was supposed to make me feel better. I clenched my fists. “If the others start killing people too, I’ll send them back, Collin.”

“Not if I don’t help you.” His face hardened.

“There’s a way for me to do it without you, and I’ll find out how.” I instinctively reached for the ring hanging around my neck.

His gaze fell to my chest and he reached for the band, lifting it up to study the symbols. His face grew stern as his eyes lifted to mine. “Where did you get this?”

“It was my father’s.”

“No, it wasn’t, Ellie.” His voice was harsh. “Where did you get it?”

And then I knew. “It’s part of the Ricardo Estate,” I whispered.

His fist tightened around the ring. “Did you get it from Marino?”

I shook my head.

The sirens grew louder.

“Ellie!” David shouted from the shore. He leaned against one of the still standing poles.

“We have to get out of here, Collin.”

Collin dropped his hold on my chain and nodded, looking dazed as he examined the dock.

We picked our way across the splintered wood and circled around the damage and holes until we reached David on the shore.

He was sitting on a rock, both of our backpacks slung over his bare shoulders. He’d tied his shirt around his leg and his face was pale. “You did it.”

We had, but Collin’s words worried me. At what price?

Collin had healed my wounds from the badgers with our marks. I considered trying the same on David but instantly knew it wouldn’t work. The ability to heal was one more resource for us as Curse Keepers.

David and I had already planned an escape route at the back of the park. We hurried toward it in silence, David hobbling to keep up.

Collin stayed with us until we slipped through the fence, and then he got into his truck and drove away.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-N
INE

The following Saturday night, the summer evening had cooled off and a breeze tickled the hair hanging down my back. Drew and Claire were dancing their first dance in the middle of the Grand Ballroom at 108 Budleigh, and Claire was gorgeous. She had gotten her dream wedding.

David leaned down toward my ear. “You do know that the maid of honor isn’t supposed to be more beautiful than the bride, don’t you?”