The Curse Keepers Collection (126 page)

“Why is she screaming, Ellie?”

“I know you can’t see them, but don’t you see the gashes all over her body?”

“No. I only hear her screaming!” His voice was frantic.

His clothes were covered with splatters of her blood. How could he not see it? “They’re clawing at her!” I shouted, running toward one of them as it reached out to slash her arm. The old woman backed away, smiling.

“Get rid of them!”

“How?” I asked, freaking out. I could see them, but I still felt helpless to stop them.

“They’re supposed to flee if they encounter someone powerful enough to see them.”

“Yeah, well they’re looking at me right now and they don’t seem to be going anywhere.” Panic crawled up my spine and burrowed at the base of my throat, clogging my airway. I had no idea how to handle this. I pinched the ring with my left thumb and middle finger. Even if I decided to use the damn thing, it would be worthless here. According to the letter at the library, I had to be standing next to the gate to use it.

The old men and women had resumed their strange circular dance, but my comment seemed to have renewed their interest in me. They stopped and turned to face me, all four laughing in tandem. I was officially freaked out, particularly since all of them were equipped with vicious claws and razor-sharp teeth. “Welcome, Curse Keeper. We’ve been waiting for you.”

One of the men lunged toward Allison.

I had no desire to throw myself into the path of his claws, but I had to protect her. I dove for her, grabbing a decorative china vase off an end table as I threw myself over her body. I twisted around just in time to smash the vase into his head. His claws narrowly missed sinking into my back as I landed hard on Allison’s bloody legs. Thrown by the sudden pain of her knee jabbing my stomach, I cried out in surprise.

“Ellie!” David cried out in a panic. “What happened?”

“It tried to claw me,” I grunted, scrambling to my knees. I was fair game on the floor.

“That’s impossible. You’re not sick.”

“What happens if they claw you?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I’ve never heard of them clawing anyone.”

“Add this to the
not acting in character
list.” My breath came in quick pants as I climbed to my feet, searching for a weapon, any weapon. Then I shuddered at my stupidity. I was surrounded by them. The wall behind me was filled with swords and knives. The question was if they would work.

I searched out the old man whom I’d attacked with the vase. He’d rejoined the group, which was once again pacing in a large circle, blocking any exit out the front door or window. Thick black blood trickled down the creature’s face, but he looked unfazed otherwise.

“How do I kill these things?”

“Other than the seven-day rule, I don’t know.” His voice was calmer and more reassuring. The fact that he had regained control settled my anxiety. “What about the ring? I know we’re not next to the gate, but it might do something.”

I shook my head. “No! I’m not using the ring.” I glanced at the wall behind me. “Can I hurt them with any of Allison’s swords?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

My other alternative was to stand back and do nothing. I quickly scanned the wall of display cases, looking for a weapon. “David, drag Allison over to the corner.”

He looked dubious. “Why?”

“Because there are four Raven Mockers, and right now they can attack us from all sides. If you’re in the corner I can protect you both.”

“Ellie. Then we’ll be trapped!”

The Raven Mockers laughed derisively.

I ignored them and the implication of their amusement. “
Do it!
I’ll get rid of them, but if we don’t protect her, they might kill her before I send them away.”

I picked up a laptop off the end table—the only hard object I could find in close proximity—and narrowed in on a display case containing a large sword.

Grunting, David grabbed Allison under the arms. “No, not that sword. It’s too heavy and will wear you out. Go for the smaller one on the right.”

“No.” A small gruff voice spoke up from the other side of the room. “You must use a warded sword.”

My head jerked up to the still-open front door. Tsagasi stood in front of it, his face contorted in anger.

“Are any of these warded swords?” I shouted back at him.

The Raven Mockers stopped their pacing and turned to face the little man. “Stay out of this,
fairy
,” one of the women hissed.

“You know how much I hate that name,” Tsagasi sneered. “That’s reason enough to help her.”

David leaned forward, still standing next to me, his arms supporting Allison. “Ellie, what the hell is that?”

“It’s Tsagasi. He’s here to help me.”

“Tsagasi?
A little person?
”

“The sword on the end, next to the doorway. At the top,” Tsagasi grunted as he moved into the room and shut the door.

The Raven Mockers’ eyes glowed red. Their heads swiveled to face me, but none of them made a move to attack. “The fairy can’t help, Curse Keeper. We will kill you.”

I found the sword Tsagasi had pointed out—a thin-bladed weapon with a narrow hilt and curved guard to cover the back of my hand. As I rushed toward the case and broke the glass, David dragged Allison across the floor, knocking over a table and lamp in the process. The light bulb in the lamp flickered and went out, plunging the room into a murky, shadowy darkness.

The Raven Mockers continued to watch me as if they were waiting for something. I was shocked they hadn’t intervened and couldn’t help but wonder what they had planned. Nothing good, I was sure.

Taking a deep breath, I lifted the sword off the hooks holding it in place and pulled it out of the case. I spun around to face them, hefting the weapon in my hand. I’d never held a real sword before, let alone used one. This thing was hundreds of years old. I hoped the blade was still sharp. “Only Raven Mockers will die tonight,” I growled, putting my back to David and Allison.

I considered lifting my hand to say my words of protection to send them away, but that would only be a temporary solution and I was tired of all my problems coming back to bite me in the ass. Not to mention the fact that they were so close they could attack and kill us all before the vortex even opened. I’d also have to switch the sword to my left hand. I was right-handed and wasn’t sure I’d be able to use the thing with my nondominant hand. I’d try the sword first.

Light from the moon shone through the windows, casting the room in shadows, but I could still see the Raven Mockers’ slumped frames. They broke into a collective grin, and the woman who had done most of the talking looked happiest of all. “She is ready. Let us begin.”

A male Raven Mocker rushed me while the others stood back and watched. His claws gleamed in the moonlight as he swung for me.

I had to protect myself, but more importantly, I had to save David. A surge of protectiveness rose up inside me as I swung the sword at the creature. It sunk into the demon’s shoulder and dug into bone, spraying demon blood into the air and all over my arm. The Raven Mocker screamed, his eyes glowing bright red as I pulled on the sword, trying to free it. I put my foot on his stomach and jerked backward, narrowly missing a swipe from his claws. My kick sent him halfway across the room with more force than I should have possessed.

“Good,” Tsagasi said. “
Good
. It gives you strength, just as I presumed.”

“We’re warning you, fairy . . . ” one of the male Raven Mockers said.

“ . . . stay out of this,” one of the women finished.

Allison had stopped whimpering and was now quietly sobbing in the corner, her eyes wild with fright. David had crouched down in front her in a protective stance.

I’d fought off one but hadn’t killed it. There were
four
of them. What if they all rushed me at once? Was I fooling myself by believing I could actually kill them? “I need the ocean,” I whispered. Collin was right. That was the source of my power, and I was hundreds of miles away.

“No,” Tsagasi said, his voice firm. He had moved closer to David and Allison while I was busy grabbing the sword and fighting off the first Raven Mocker, and now he stood behind me. “You get part of your power from the sea, but why do all the gods want you? Why do they search out
you
and not the son of the earth?”

“I’m the witness to creation.”

“Yes. Your greatest power is as the witness to creation, and you haven’t even tapped it yet. Dig deep. It’s there.”

Finding my power was easier said than done when I was being stalked by four demons. But Tsagasi was right. How had I never realized it before?

I thought about the vision I’d had in the ocean with Collin, the one in which I’d relived the creation of the universe and the world. Suddenly, I wasn’t just remembering the
vision
; I was remembering what it felt like to watch the event millions of years ago. Power coursed through my blood and filled my body.

“Yes,” Tsagasi said. “Now.”

When the next demon, one of women, leaped at me, I was ready. Crouching low, I let her get close before lunging toward her, using all my weight to shove the sword through her chest. I embedded the blade between her ribs and up through her back as her scream pierced my ears. I started to pull the weapon out, but her body evaporated into a ball of smoke.

“Did I kill it?” I asked, breathless. Thick black liquid coated the dull metal and dripped onto the floor.

“Yes,” Tsagasi answered.

I nodded. Three more to go. I could do this.

David was talking behind me, but I had no idea what he was saying. I concentrated on the three creatures in front of me. Two had changed from cocky to wary while the older woman beamed. One of the men glanced toward the door.

“Don’t you fuckers even think about leaving,” I said through clenched teeth. I had no idea how to correctly wield a sword, but I held my arm close to my body, the blade pointed forward. If one of them rushed me, it would run into the blade. Their claws looked vicious, so I wanted to stay out of their reach. But thinking of the number of times I’d been clawed by demons only pissed me off more.

I was done taking crap from demons.

“We aren’t going anywhere. We haven’t completed our assignment,” the two men said as one.

“And what’s that?”

“To kill you.” They laughed, but the woman—whom I was beginning to suspect was in charge—remained silent.

“How did you know that I’d be back here tonight?”

“You are predictable,” one of the men answered in disgust.

“If that’s true, why do I get the feeling that what I did to your friend was totally
unpredictable
?”

The creatures didn’t answer. Instead, the injured old man bolted toward me with both arms raised, ready to claw me. I shoved the sword into his stomach, but he laughed and skimmed his claws across one of my shoulders.

Trying to ignore the burning pain of the wound, I leaned backward and jerked the blade out. But he continued to come toward me, his mouth open, his teeth ready to sink into my neck. Pulling my arm back so that the sword was next to my body and parallel to the floor, I threw my weight into it, impaling his heart with the weapon.

Surprise and fear flickered in his eyes before his body turned into flames and a cloud of smoke.

Two left.

But I was already out of breath, and I lost the advantage of surprise now that they realized I could kill them. The remaining two would be prepared to put up more of a fight.

I held the sword out to my side and leaned over, sucking in a deep breath. “Are you so sure you’re going to kill me now?” I sneered. But even as I said the words, I realized that their plan made no sense. The Raven Mocker I’d seen in Manteo had told me that I was a vessel who would either save or destroy the world. How could killing me now achieve that? The future was supposedly unchangeable, and the Raven Mocker had committed suicide to deliver her prediction . . .

“We will shred your abdomen and watch your intestines spill out onto the floor,” the man said, laughing.

“While that sounds fun, I think I’ll pass.”

“What’s going on, Ellie?” David asked, terror in his voice.

Crap, he couldn’t see or hear any of this.

“I’ve killed two and two are left. They’ve threatened to gut me. I took a rain check.”

“You’ve killed
two
?”

Before I could answer, both Raven Mockers attacked me at once, coming at me from opposite sides. I’d been lucky to take out the first two, but I was in real danger this time.

Tsagasi’s voice echoed in my head. “Listen to your power, witness to creation.”

I dove out of their path, away from David. One followed me, but the woman moved toward David and Allison. Tsagasi shot in front of the Raven Mocker, blocking her path with his body and a flash of light.

Grabbing the sword with both hands, I ran forward, sinking the blade deep into the chest of my attacker. The weapon hadn’t hit his heart, but I’d used so much strength that its blade was embedded almost to my fist. As I struggled to pull it out, I pressed my foot on his stomach and kicked, jerking my weapon free.

The Raven Mocker growled, swiping at me from the side, but I twisted in the opposite direction and spun in a circle. I used the momentum to move behind the creature and plunge the sword into its back, under its left shoulder blade. The demon screamed loud and long before bursting into flames and smoke.

I spun around to face the remaining demon. The old woman stood in the center of the room, watching me. “And then there was one.”

She’d had a chance to kill me from behind and hadn’t taken it. Why?

I cast a glance at the group huddled in the corner. David was still squatting in front of Allison, while Tsagasi stood in front of him, bathed in a soft yellow glow. The perpetual scowl on his face was deeper and made him look fierce.

“You’ve been lucky, Curse Keeper,” the elderly woman cooed. “My brothers and sister were careless, but I am not.”

“You just keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.”