The Curse Keepers Collection (128 page)

“Curse Keeper, you must leave,” Tsagasi said, his voice firm. “The longer you stay, the more danger you are in.”

“You mean of getting caught by the police?”

“The human police are by far your lowest concern.” He turned his focus to David. “The Raven Mocker was on a mission. It was obvious she didn’t intend to kill you, but she took pleasure in taunting you. She could come back to finish the job.” He tilted his head toward David.

I knew he was right, but it felt so wrong to leave her like this. Allison hadn’t liked me, and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit to learn that she’d done everything in her power to win David back tonight, but that didn’t mean she’d deserved to die. “Tsagasi, thank you.”

He nodded, looking solemn and serious. His ever-present scowl still puckered his face, but it had softened. For the first time I noticed a wound on the side of his head, black blood trickling down his cheek. He’d risked his life to help us. Why? But trying to reason it out was like pulling on a loose thread—everything just kept unraveling. My poor brain couldn’t handle another puzzle at the moment.

I grabbed David’s arm and pulled him toward the front door, stopping to peer outside to see if anyone was around. When it looked clear, I dragged him to the car and opened the passenger door, pushing him inside.

“We can’t just leave her like that, Ellie,” he said as I got in and started the car. But his voice sounded like it was drained of fight.

“Tsagasi will take care of her.”

He turned to me, the pain raw in his eyes. “Can you really trust him?”

“He has given me every reason to trust him in the little time that I’ve known him.”

“And how long has that been?” There was accusation in his voice. “Have you known about him for weeks without telling me?”

“No,” I said, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice. I deserved his questions. “I found him in your backyard after I left you with Allison.”

“Can you blame me for asking? You went to see Collin yesterday without telling me. And you avoided giving me any details about seeing Okeus so you could keep it secret. What happened when you were with Collin in the ocean, Ellie? When you were
touching marks
?” His voice was ugly. He knew what had happened, what I was refusing to say. “What other things don’t you want to tell me?”

“David, please. Let’s not do this right now.”

“Why not? Now seems like the
perfect
time, with my dead ex-girlfriend being ‘taken care of’ by your new friend.”

“No, you’re hurting.” I swallowed my tears. I deserved all of his accusations and more. And it would be easy for him to push me away in his anger, but I couldn’t let him do that. He needed me whether he wanted me or not. I had to be calm and strong for him, just like he usually was for me. “But you have every right to ask me if I kept him from you. I’ll admit that I’ve kept things from you while trying to protect you.”

“Even though you promised not to do that.” Bitterness laced his words. “You promised no secrets, Ellie. You
lied
to me.”

“Yes, I’ll admit that I’ve tried to protect you.
I love you, David.
I’ve put you through enough hell . . . I thought that I was doing you a favor if I could save you from some of it. But I was wrong, and I’m sorry for that.”

He shook his head and stared out the window, his shoulders trembling. “She didn’t deserve to die.”

“No, she didn’t. I’m so sorry.”

“
We
did this to her.” His voice was drenched in self-disgust. “We killed her.”

I wasn’t sure how to answer, mostly because I couldn’t deny his claim. There was a good chance that we were the cause of her death, one way or another.

“I keep seeing her thrashing on the ground, screaming and begging for me to help her.” His voice broke and he choked back a sob. “There wasn’t a bloody thing I could do about it. I brought those fuckers to her door and I couldn’t save her.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What the hell am I doing with you, Ellie?”

I gasped, the pain of his words sinking deep into my heart. My throat burned and I couldn’t hold back my tears.

“I couldn’t help Allison. I can’t help you. What bloody good am I?”

“That’s not true, David! You help me more than you know. I need you.” I reached for his hand, but he shoved me away.

“No. You need Collin.” His words were hateful. “You went to Collin yesterday because you need
him
, Ellie. You spiritually and emotionally and
physically
need him. You don’t need me.”

I pulled into his driveway and turned off the car, sobbing.

“Every time you’re with him, you have to fight some primal need buried deep inside you. Why are you fighting it? Your soul is bound to him, Ellie. You should be with Collin. Not me.”

“I don’t want to be with him. You know that! I need
you.
I want
you!
” I grabbed his hand, but he shook me off again. “David, I need you for your knowledge about the gods and the spirits. And if not for you, I wouldn’t know the story behind the ring or the spear. I wouldn’t know that Ahone had plotted that too. I wouldn’t know about the Guardians and I wouldn’t have found a warded sword.” Oh, God. In my panic, I’d left the sword at Allison’s house. “I can’t do this on my own. I need your help. I love you.” I choked on the last sentence, hoping my words were enough.

He turned to face me, his eyes filled with anger and hatred, and my heart broke even more. My worst fear was coming true. I was losing him too.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks. David’s safety was more important than my hurt feelings, and we were sitting outside in his car. “But right now, we need to get inside. Tsagasi and I think the Raven Mocker might come back for you.”

He released a bitter laugh.

By the time I opened my door, he had already gotten out of the car and was walking toward the porch. I hadn’t had time to lock the front door, but David didn’t seem to notice or care when I just pushed it open.

We stood in his living room and I wondered what we were supposed to do. It’s not like David could watch his ex-girlfriend die in agony and then come home and turn on the television.

I looked down at my arms and clothes, which were caked in demon blood and smelled of sulfur and tar. I suspected that I’d have to throw my clothes away. “I need to wash the Raven Mocker blood off.”

He swung his gaze to study me. “What are you talking about?”

“I killed three of them and their blood is on my skin and clothes, even if you can’t see it.”

He turned to look out the window.

“Do you want me to get you something?” I asked, worried about leaving him alone.

“No.” His voice was cold.

“I’m going to take my shower. Don’t go anywhere.”

He looked at me with a vacant expression. “Where am I going to go, Ellie?”

I pressed a kiss to his lips, cupping his cheek with my hand. “I love you. I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t answer and he didn’t kiss me back. I fought new tears. He looked so broken, and it was all my fault. Was I keeping him with me out of selfishness? Was the answer to let him go? I pushed down the panic that accompanied that thought.

“I’ll be right back.” I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, stripping off my clothes. I needed to hurry back to him.

I climbed into the steaming water and quickly washed my hair and body, fighting the sorrow that permeated my heart like the demon stink that clung to my body. I scrubbed my skin until it was raw. As I rinsed off, the curtain parted and David stood in the opening, naked and watching me.

I held out my hand to him. He grabbed it and stepped into the tub, pulling me to his chest, his hands digging into my shoulder blades. I wrapped my arms around his back and held him close, nearly crying with relief. He had come to me. He still wanted me.

We stood there for several seconds, the warm water beating down on us, until I lifted my head and looked up into his face.

His eyes were squeezed shut, pain etching lines on his face.

I had done this to him. I had brought this upon him.

His hand slowly slid up my shoulder blade to my neck, and he grasped the back of my head and tilted my face up so he could search my eyes. Whatever he saw there must have been what he needed because his mouth lowered and he gave me a hesitant kiss. I tangled a hand in his now-damp hair and held him tight.

Letting loose any of the reserve that held him back, his grip on me tightened and his kiss became more demanding. He turned and pressed my back against the cold porcelain tile as his hand found my breast.

“Part of me hates you,” he murmured before kissing me again, his mouth punishing before it lifted again. “You’ve ruined everything. I can never, ever go back to the only life I’ve ever known.”

His words stabbed my heart, and my grief and guilt threatened to suffocate me.

“But I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life, and the thought of living without you is inconceivable.”

“I’m sorry,” I choked out, tears burning behind my eyes.

He lifted one of my legs and wrapped it up around his waist so that his erection prodded my entrance. Then he plunged in deep.

I gasped in surprise and he stopped, holding me up with my leg and his other arm, still buried deep inside me.

“You’re my soul mate, Ellie. I never believed in soul mates until I met you. You’re the one person I was destined to be with forever. I know that as clearly as I know that winter follows fall and the sun will rise every morning. But fate is a fickle, fickle bitch.” His words were harsh as he pulled back and plunged into me again, pressing my back hard against the wall. “Because while you are my soul mate, I’m not yours.”

“David.”

He grabbed my right hand, spreading my fingers open to reveal the circle and the square embedded in my skin. “You belong to
him
.”

I shook my head, crying. I couldn’t deny it. “I don’t want to belong to him.”

“But you do anyway, don’t you?”

“David, please.”

“Tell me who you want, Ellie.” His voice was harsh.

“You know who I want.”

“
Say it.
”

“I want you, David,” I said in desperation. “I want you. I only want you.”

His eyes searched mine. “But is it enough, Ellie? Is wanting me enough?”

“It
has
to be.”

His mouth covered mine and he lifted my ass up so my legs straddled him. He threw the shower curtain open and stepped over the side of the tub, carrying me out the bathroom door and the few steps to his bed. The cool air hit my water-drenched skin, raising goose bumps.

I kept my legs wrapped around his waist as he dropped me onto the mattress, climbing on top of me and entering me again. I clung to him, trying to keep up, trying to give him what he needed from me, but I realized the only thing he needed was for me to be there, holding him and proving that I was staying with him. That I chose him.

When he finished, he rolled to his side and pulled me up next to him. I started to cry softly on his chest and he pulled back, horror on his face. “Oh, God. What have I done? I hurt you.”

I shook my head adamantly. “No, David. I hurt
you
. I’m so tired of hurting you.”

“Shh.” He brushed kisses along my cheek and hairline. “I love you, Ellie. Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

I nodded, fresh tears streaming down the sides of my face and running into my wet hair. “I love you too.”

His mouth found mine, and I held his head in place. I needed him. I needed this. I needed to know he wasn’t giving up on me.

“We left the water running in the shower. I’ll be right back.”

He left me naked on top of the bed. I realized how easy it would be for him to walk away and leave me alone and vulnerable, despite his protests that he had nowhere else to go. Anywhere he went would be safer and saner than staying with me.

When he returned moments later, I was curled in a ball on the bed, sobbing.

He pulled me into his arms. “God, Ellie. I’m so sorry.” His voice broke. “I just treated you like—”

I shook my head, my mouth finding his, but I continued to cry and had to pull away to catch my breath. “I can’t lose you. I can’t lose you.”

He pulled me against him, holding on tight. “I’m not going anywhere, love. I’m here.”

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