The Curse Keepers (Curse Keepers series) (42 page)

“Claire!”

“Come on, Ellie, give me something.”

I unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Let’s just say he was better than Dwight,” I said without thinking. I’d momentarily forgotten he was dead and guilt flooded my head. Dwight was dead because of me.

“Please, a jellyfish is better than Dwight.” But Claire’s usual sarcastic bite was missing. “Give me something else.”

She followed me in and shut the door while I set my laundry on my bed.

“Fine,” I said with a smug smile. “Nothing I’ve experienced has even come close to what we shared.” Little did she know.

She clapped her hands, happiness replacing her melancholy. “See? Didn’t I tell you? Say it. Come on.”

I forced a cheesy grin. “Fine. You were right. Happy now?”

“So what’s going on with the curse stuff?”

My smile fell. “The ceremony is tonight.”

“Are you two ready for that?”

“I think so. We have the cup and the bowl. Collin is preparing everything else today. We’ll beat the deadline. We should be good.” I hoped so.

“So what are you going to do after that? Are you going to join Match.com like I suggested?”

I squinted in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Now that you are back in the saddle and riding again, we want to keep it that way. You’ve tapped out the dating pool on Roanoke Island. Time to broaden your horizons.”

I tilted my head. “Claire, Collin doesn’t want this to be a couple-of-days thing.”

“What are you talking about, Ellie? You know that Collin is not a commitment-type guy. That’s why he was so perfect. Hot guy who fucks you blind—”

“Claire!”

“—and gets your confidence back so you can move on to someone more reliable.” She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, my God. You’re actually considering keeping him around.”

“He’s not what you think he is, Claire.”

“A womanizing man-whore? You’re really telling me that he’s not?”

I didn’t answer, trying to find the words to explain it.

She laughed, but it was bitter. “Let me guess, Collin told you that you’re different than any other woman he’s ever met, and he’s going to change for you.”

How did I answer that? When she put it that way, it sounded like a flat-out lie. But I’d seen a deeper Collin than he showed the world. Or was that all an act? No, I’d felt his bond to me through our marks. He couldn’t lie to me, not when we were connected like that.

“Please, dear God, tell me you haven’t fallen for him? I thought you were smarter than that.”

I turned my back to her and looked out the window.

“Ellie.” The disappointment in her voice hurt.

“Shut up, Claire.”

She sighed and sat on the bed, crossing her legs. “What the hell do I know? Maybe he will.”

I pulled my laundry out and started putting it away. “Yeah.” I hated myself for letting her make me doubt.

“Ellie.”

I turned to look at her.

“I hope for your sake he does. You deserve to be screwed by a guy like that every night and make babies so gorgeous that human eyes can’t look upon them.”

I grinned in spite of my worry, unsuccessfully hiding my chuckle. “I love you too. Now go home and get ready for your wedding next month.” I paused. “Claire, when it gets dark, I want to mark your door.”

“Seriously? The salt worked.”

“Thank God, but the spirit threatened to hurt someone I love. I want to make sure you’re protected. Just in case.”

I needed all the insurance I could get.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-N
INE

The restaurant had reopened after Lila’s death, but it remained closed after Marlena’s. She was the heart and soul of the New Moon. I wasn’t sure I could even face working there without her.

The police showed up at my apartment mid-afternoon. The marks on my door threw the two officers, but they recovered before they sat down on my sofa. One of the officers was familiar. I was sure the middle-aged man had been in the restaurant before. But the other I’d gone to school with, Tom Helmsworth.

The older officer took the lead with the questioning. “Do you know anyone who has a personal vendetta against the restaurant?”

I shook my head, pressing the back of my knuckles against my teeth. “No.”

“Have you ever felt unsafe working there?”

The only time I’d felt unsafe was the first day Collin showed up. “No. The New Moon is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.”

“Do you have any idea who could have done this?”

Tears filled my eyes, and I shook my head.

Tom shifted his weight. “What’s with the door, Ellie?”

My breath caught. “You mean the marks?”

“Yeah.”

“Protection.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you need protection from?”

Shit. Why did I tell him that? “I heard about the tourist and I heard about Lila. That they were frozen solid. That doesn’t exactly sound natural, now does it? I’m protecting myself from evil spirits.”

I expected Tom to laugh and call me crazy. Instead he kept his gaze on me, his face expressionless. “Why do you think these evil spirits would come after you?”

I swallowed. What did Tom know? This didn’t sound like idle curiosity. “It’s insurance. Just like the deadbolt on my door. I hope to God I’ll never need it, but it’s there in case I do.”

Tom didn’t seem satisfied, but he didn’t press for more information. He stood, and the other officer stood with him. “Well, thank you for your time, Ellie.”

I nodded. “Sure.” I walked them to the door and the older man started down the stairs, but Tom stopped on the porch and stared at my door.

“You know what I don’t get?” His eyes pierced mine.

My heart lurched. “No. What?”

“Where a woman white as Wonder Bread learned Native American symbols, and why she thought to put them on her door.”

My mouth dropped open, but I wasn’t sure what to say.

His voice lowered. “You can talk to me, Ellie. I can protect you. Is there something you have to tell me?”

I shook my head. “No.”

He knew I was lying, but there was nothing I could do about that right now. I only hoped he thought I had information and didn’t consider me a suspect.

Around seven, Collin sent me a text telling me he’d let me know when we’d go to the botanical gardens. Since the gardens were in the same complex as the Lost Colony grounds, Collin was smart to wait until the wee hours of the morning. So much activity was happening at the new excavation site—I still couldn’t believe they called it that when it was so obviously not excavated—that three or four a.m. were probably the safest hours, and still gave us enough time before the sunrise.

He sent me another text around nine telling me to be ready at two.

Why didn’t he call? Worry churned in my gut, fueled by doubt and fear.

I went to Claire’s around ten. I was on edge and conscious of my surroundings while I fisted and flexed my right hand. My fingertips brushed the raised edges of my mark, giving me small comfort. I could protect myself and the people I loved. I wasn’t helpless.

I wanted to wait until later to start on Claire’s door, when hopefully no one would see me, but I was afraid to wait too long. While Claire was eager to let me mark her entrances, Drew, on the other hand, took some convincing. Especially since I refused to give him an adequate reason.

She stood back as I made the symbols Colin showed me, leaving out his symbol and substituting mine instead. For the center symbol, I put Claire and Drew’s initials and prayed it was enough.

“That is so cool,” she said after I finished.

“Let’s just hope you don’t need it.”

When I left, I drove to the inn. Myra was an early-to-bed person, so I knew I wouldn’t run into her close to eleven thirty. Daddy had marked the doors, but some of the symbols Collin used were missing. I’d feel better if I redid them all, but the inn had a lot of exterior doors, and it would take me awhile.

I made my way around the building, putting Myra and Daddy’s initials in the spot that designated who needed protection, hoping it covered the guests too. But I put a fresh line of salt in all the openings for added insurance, even the windows I could reach. If the gate didn’t close, I’d ask Collin if there was something more appropriate to use. I chided myself for my pessimism, but I couldn’t shake the heavy dread that had settled around me.

I saved the front door that led out to the screened porch for last. I opened the screen door slowly to ease the creak in the hinges and nearly screamed when I saw Daddy in the corner, mumbling.

“Daddy! You scared me to death! Does Myra know you’re down here?” I knew for a fact she didn’t. There was no way she’d let him out here by himself.

Daddy ignored me, still mumbling, but I caught a few words.
Black water, son of the sea.

He was saying the words of protection, but in English.

I took several steps closer. “Daddy?”

He stood in the darkest of shadows, probably the least safe place he could be. My palm began to tingle.

Shit.

My heart pounded against my ribs. I knew I could protect myself, but could I protect Daddy too? Did I have time to mark the front door?

“Curse Keeper.” A shimmering white-grayish light appeared on the porch out of thin air, and I stood in front of Daddy to shield him. “Daughter of the sea, witness to creation. The hour is close at hand. Do you intend to close the gate?”

Since this spirit wasn’t threatening me, he must be Ahone’s messenger. “Yes, but I’m not sure how.”

“Because you do not believe.”

“I believe now.”

“Yet you still have no faith.”

“It’s not a matter of faith. I just don’t remember.” Frustration welled in my chest. Were the memories buried deep inside, or had telling Claire wiped them away? Not that it mattered at this point. I had no hope of learning them in the next few hours.

“A sacrifice must be made to close the gate.”

I gasped. I expected something like this from Okeus, but not Ahone. “What kind of sacrifice?”

“You are safe tonight. From Ahone.”

I swallowed to keep from throwing up. “Okeus?”

“Okeus is not your greatest enemy tonight.”

“What does that mean?”

My father’s mumbling grew louder, and I glanced over my shoulder. Daddy had his hand up, muttering the words of protection in English. Would it work for him since he wasn’t the Keeper now? I doubted it, fear spreading through my body like a cancer.

“The curse was flawed from beginning to end. Alpha and Omega. The beginning of time to the end the world. The universe tends to chaos but thrives on balance. Gods were not meant to be contained, nor can they be commanded. A price must be paid for the arrogance of man. Each line must pay a price and the retribution is steep. A sacrifice must be made.”

My blood rushed in my ears. My palm burned, and I held it at my side, ready to send the spirit away, but he was here for a reason, and I hoped to find out why.

“What about Ahone? He was part of the curse.”

“He has suffered many times over, and he will suffer again. The son of the land has already made his sacrifice; now it is time for the daughter of the sea.”

What did Collin sacrifice? “Do you mean I must die?”

“Not tonight. Not by Ahone.”

Daddy’s mumbling stopped.

And then I knew, my eyes widening as my heart raced. “No! I’ve sacrificed one parent to this terrible curse already. I won’t give another.”

“Ahone will not close the gate without a sacrifice.” Then the spirit was gone.

A sacrifice? I forced myself to calm down and think rationally. I couldn’t sacrifice Daddy. I wouldn’t. The gate could stay cracked for eternity for all I cared. But if gods were after Daddy, I had to protect him.

“Daddy! You have to go inside.” I ran to the door, writing the symbols as quickly as I could. I’d made it to the symbol for air, when a wind blew me across the porch and sent me crashing into the wicker furniture.

“
Curse Keeper
.” My throat tightened at the derogatory tone. Okeus’s messenger. “It is time to make your decision.”

“Tell Okeus to go back to hell.”

“If you refuse, you must make your sacrifice.”