The Curse Keepers Collection (133 page)

A man was downstairs, threatening Momma, asking for the ring. But Momma pretended not to know what he was talking about until he threatened to hurt me if she didn’t give it to him and started to hit her.

I wanted to help Momma, but a man’s voice in my ear told me it was too dangerous. I sat on the stairs crying. When the intruder told another man to go upstairs and find me, my mother begged them to leave me alone. The voice in my ear told me to hide.

So I ran to my closet and burrowed into the back, hiding even though I was desperate to help Momma.

Momma and the bad men came upstairs. One was looking in the rooms while the other asked Momma questions.

Then there was scuffling in the hall and I could see shadows moving along the wall. A smaller shadow jumped on a larger one, and then I heard my mother’s screams.

I sobbed in the closet, anger rising up inside me. I needed to protect Momma, but some unseen force pinned me to the wall.

The bigger shadow grunted and growled as his arm swung over and over toward the smaller shadow. My mother screamed and screamed.

I tried to burst free, but the invisible hold kept me in place and the voice in my ear whispered, “Not yet, Ellie.”

A figure stood in the doorway to my bedroom, his head concealed by the hood of his sweatshirt. He held a large knife in his hand, the metal shining in the lightning flash outside my window. I stopped crying and held my breath, terrified.

He moved into the room and around the bed, crouching down to check underneath. Then he rose and moved past the closet door. Just as I thought he was going to leave, he spun around, squatting in front of me. Blood dripped from his knife onto the floor. He reached for me and I screamed, but a bright light filled the room. The man covered his face with his arm.

“
I claim her as my own, Curse Keeper. You will not harm her.
” The angry words belonged to the voice that had told me to hide.

Curse Keeper?

I tried to break free of the memory but it pulled me back down, smothering me with renewed grief.

“Do not think me
stupid
, son of the earth. You wish to break the curse. You are not the first, nor will you be the last,” Ahone said.

The Curse Keeper still held his knife, ready to attack, and Ahone’s light shone brighter in warning. “You are mistaken if you think that I will let you hurt her. I need her for another purpose. The curse will be broken, but not today. It will happen when
I
deem it so.”

“I’m sick and tired of being at the mercy of the curse,” the man said, his voice gravelly. “I want this to end.
Tonight
.”

“It began at
my
will and will end when
I
wish it. I do not condone you forcing my hand, Curse Keeper, and you will
pay
for this transgression, just like the others before you.” The light glowed bright white. “
This girl changes everything
. If only you had shown patience and restraint, you would have seen this. You will get what you want, but not during your tenure. At a time of my choosing, I will find your son and help him break the curse.” Ahone’s voice lowered and sounded more menacing. “But because of your treachery, he will rue the day I sought him out, and he will curse you for the sacrifices he must make as penance for
your
betrayal.”

The Curse Keeper climbed to his feet. “With the help of Okeus, my son will defeat you, Ahone.”

“He will try, and he will fail. The girl will be his downfall.”

“No!” The man grunted, lunging for me.

I screamed and the light burst brighter than before, blasting the man out the door and onto the floor in the hall.

The Curse Keeper’s hood had fallen off his head, and his wavy dark hair and dark eyes resembled Collin’s. But when this man’s eyes locked with mine, the ugliness there was nothing like the expression in his son’s eyes. He shouted at the other man and hurried down the hall and then the stairs.

The little girl me tried to break free from the invisible band holding me back. “Not yet,” Ahone said, his anger now gone.

“What are you?” I whispered.

“Not what, but
who
. And you will find out soon enough.”

Finally, the hold broke free and I stumbled as I ran out of the closet and landed in the pool of blood in front of the closet door. I screamed.

“Ellie!” Momma called out in fear.

“Momma!” I got to my feet and rushed to the hallway.

She lay on the floor, her clothes covered in blood. I called out her name, light-headed with fear. Her head turned toward me and I gagged as I took in the puddle of blood around her.

“Ellie, call 911.” But I was too terrified to move, so Momma told me to sit with her. I stared at the blood on the floor, feeling like I was about to throw up.

My mother comforted me, and although I knew she was dying, I could only hold her hand and listen to her last words of advice and love. Her voice broke and fear filled her eyes. “There’s so much to tell you and not enough time.”

“Momma, please,” I cried. “
Pleasssse
. . . ”

“
Oh, Ellie
,” she whispered. “I wanted to protect you from the ugliness of the world, and I brought it to your front door.” Her eyes fluttered and her grip on my hand loosened.

The next thing I knew, the shadowy figure of an older man with white hair and a white beard floated over the staircase. Ahone.

“Ellie, you are strong and brave. When it is your time, you will make an excellent Curse Keeper.”

“You said the man who killed Momma was a Keeper,” I said, lifting my head to look at him. “I don’t want to be a Keeper anymore.”

“Elinor, you are
destined
to be a Keeper. It was foretold from the beginning of time. You are more special than any Keeper before you. I’ve been waiting centuries for you to arrive. The forces of nature have finally heard my plea and sent you so that I may finish the job I began with your ancestor, Ananias Dare. Tonight begins a chain of events that brings us to the end.”

“
I want my momma
,” I wailed.

“Daughter of the sea and witness to creation, your first sacrifice has been made.” His light faded slightly, and he sounded sad.

“It will be the first of many. The unraveling of the curse begins tonight, but I will take all memories associated with the curse from you, so that the events of tonight will be locked deep in your mind. I need you to be willing to accept your role when the time comes.” He moved closer and his voice softened. “But you will also lose all other memories of the curse. They’ve already begun to slip away. You will believe it is because you told Claire, and you will be filled with a heavy burden of guilt. I’m sorry, but it is the best way.”

I looked up again, shaking my head in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“I know, but one day you will. When the time comes for you to know, you will remember everything.”

And then I began to scream.

C
HAPTER
S
IXTEEN

I was back in the forest, lying across the log, my face covered in tears.

“Did you see it all?” Tsagasi asked, standing next to my head, his knife in his hand. My other guardians stood at four points, their backs to me. Their weapons were in their hands, ready to be used if necessary.

“Yes.” I sat up, still in shock. “Collin’s father killed Momma.”

He didn’t respond.

“You knew?” When he still didn’t say anything, I asked, “How could you know? You were locked away.”

“We are not clueless to the events that have occurred over the past four hundred years, at least the ones that affect us.”

I knew his answer was the best I was going to get.

Disappointment made his mouth droop more than usual. “Out of everything you learned, that is what you focus on?”

He was right, but it was still a kick in the gut. Did Collin know? I thought back to when I’d told him about my mother’s murder. The look of horror and concern on his face. If he didn’t know, he suspected. But even so, could I hold it against him? There was a lot I didn’t know about Collin, but I knew he’d never condone my mother’s murder.

“I have to call him.”

“I agree. You are half of a whole. While you have great power on your own and you must learn to defend yourself and fight alone, you need the other Keeper.”

After everything I had heard and seen over the last couple of days, finding out that I needed to spend more time with Collin instead of less was not what I wanted to hear. “I can’t. For one thing, Collin has pledged himself to Okeus. We’re on opposite sides.”

“Are you? Do you align yourself with Ahone?”

He had a point. “Second, if I spend more time with Collin, it will kill David. I can’t do that to him.”

His eyes narrowed. “More fragile human emotions. They say humans are made to resemble the gods, and every time I deal with one I understand why. Your egos and emotions rule your lives. There are more important things in the world than your
feelings
.”

I closed my eyes, resting my face in my hands.

“You are going to Charlotte tomorrow?”

I looked up. “How did you know?”

He rolled his eyes. But if Tsagasi knew, did that mean other supernatural beings did too? What danger did that put us in? I suspected that the Raven Mocker had killed Allison to keep us from finding out whatever she’d kept from us about the collection. What would they do if we actually went to see it?

“You need the other Keeper to go with you.”

I shook my head. “He’ll never come.”

“He will if you ask him.”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Tsagasi might be right. Collin had ties to the Ricardo Estate. I couldn’t imagine that he’d want me to waltz right in and see it on my own. Besides, I didn’t think he knew where it was, and David had a location.

“What else did you learn?”

“Ahone has been scheming to use me for longer than I realized, but Okeus had already told me that two days ago.”

He nodded.

“My father lied to me. He knew why my mother died.”

“Perhaps he wanted to protect you.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Follow your instinct. Trust only yourself.”

I forced a teasing grin. “Are you telling me not to trust
you
, Tsagasi?”

“I’m telling you that every being is interested in one thing: self-preservation. I am no different. Pick the being that has your survival foremost on its mind—you.”

I wanted to argue that his opinion was selfish and egocentric, but wasn’t that the point?

“The Nunnehi wish to return and Tsawasi and I will go with them. You may use us six more times for protection. Choose wisely.”

“And how will I find you?”

“We will find you. Simply call my name.” Then the Nunnehi warriors vanished and Tsagasi and his brother walked behind a tree.

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and checked my reception, grateful to see I had so many bars. I found Collin’s number and pressed send.

He answered on the second ring. “Ellie.”

A shiver ran down my spine when I heard him say my name, and I almost hung up. “Collin, I’m sorry to bother you.”

“I figured it must be important. That’s the only reason you call. When you want something that’s important to you.”

Ouch
. But I couldn’t deny it, and his statement only confirmed Tsagasi’s words. “What do you know about Raven Mockers?”

He hesitated. “They’re Cherokee.”

“Well, they seem to be equal-opportunity terrorists.”

“You’ve met a Raven Mocker?”

I told him about my encounter with the Raven Mockers at Allison’s house.

“You fought Raven Mockers?
Are you crazy?
Was this
his
idea?”

“If you’re referring to David, then no, it wasn’t his idea. I think he wishes I would have just sent them away instead of killing them.”

“What do you mean you killed them? That’s impossible.”

I shook my head before realizing he couldn’t see me. “Tsagasi helped me.”

“Tsagasi? The little person?”