The Curse Keepers Collection (160 page)

Again with this destroying business. Nevertheless, I was having second thoughts.

“With great sacrifice comes a great reward,” the god said.

“That’s just it.” I gave him a sarcastic grin. “I’m not much into sacrifice.”

“You need money for your boat.”

“Yeah . . . ”

“As a sign of good faith, you will get the money to replace your engine. But if you accept, you
must
seek out the Dare Keeper.

“And if I take the money and don’t break the curse?”

“Your misery will have only just begun.”

Shit. So I faced being destroyed by the Dare Keeper’s power or Ahone’s punishment if I didn’t do his bidding. Some choice.

“I will need your answer before I leave.”

“This is a big decision. I don’t want to be hasty.”

“You’ve had a month.”

Was a month long enough to make such a life-altering choice?

“Humanity rests in the balance.”

Ahone didn’t know me very well if he was using that argument to sway me. I knew it was my duty, but that wasn’t necessarily the incentive I needed. Humanity had treated me like shit most of my life. What did I owe
it
?

“But your brother’s life depends on it.”

So he
did
know my biggest motivator.

The light pulsed but gave no answer.

I struggled not to show my terror to the god. I suspected the threat came from the other Keeper, but I wouldn’t put it past Ahone to use my brother as a bargaining chip to get what he wanted. Conner might hate me, but I was still his older brother. I’d spent my entire life looking out for him, trying to keep him safe. I didn’t plan to stop now. But my grandmother was right. Ahone might be tricking me. But could I really risk ignoring him if there was a chance he was right?

I’d spent a month debating this decision, but in the end, it was an easy choice. If there was any chance of freeing myself of this curse and saving my brother in the process, it was worth the risk.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

The light pulsed. “You have made the right decision. Find her and be ready. I will give you a sign within a month, and then you will have forty-eight hours to break the curse.”

“What’s the sign?”

“You will know when you see it.”

Fucking gods.

The light shrunk to a pinpoint and disappeared. I sat out on the water for another hour, wondering if I’d just made the best decision of my life or the absolute worst. But at least I was taking action. It sure beat sitting on my ass, waiting for something to happen.

I steered the boat back to shore, the engine cutting out several times on the way back. When I checked my mailbox the next day, I was surprised to see an envelope from my insurance company. I’d made a claim for the damage the boat suffered in the last hurricane, but the company had denied it. The envelope contained a letter saying they’d reversed their decision, along with a check. Which, incidentally, equaled the amount it would cost to replace the engine.

If I cashed this check, I was committed. But who was I kidding? I was already committed.

If I was really going to break the curse, I needed to get my hands on the Dare weapons before the other Keeper had the chance. But tracking down the collection on my own was tricky. I snuck into Marino’s office late the next night, finding the file with the photographs but little additional information other than the name and address of Emilio Ricardo’s attorney. I suppose a treasure map with a giant X was too much to hope for. A trip to Greenville and three days getting friendly with the attorney’s receptionist was little help. The week I trolled around Charlotte trying to locate the collection’s actual location was also a bust. But I’d spent nearly two weeks on the Dare weapons when what I really needed was to find the Dare Keeper. I abandoned my search and headed back to the OBX.

Instead of going home to Buxton, I stopped on Roanoke Island and drove straight to Manteo, figuring I needed to begin looking for the woman determined to destroy my life. Since my hand had itched when I was docked next to the small downtown area for my charter-fishing venture, it seemed like the logical place to start.

My palm was already tingling when I parked by the lighthouse on the south side of downtown. I couldn’t believe my luck. Could finding her really be this easy? Using my hand like a metal detector, I tracked her to a restaurant downtown—the New Moon. I considered going in, but didn’t want to risk it. What if she figured out who I was? If I was going to take the offensive, I wanted the element of surprise, and I wasn’t prepared to make a move yet.

Instead, I went into the sandwich shop across the street and ordered lunch, taking my meal outside to sit on a park bench across the street from the New Moon. I watched the restaurant for an hour, spending part of my time pretending to read tourist pamphlets before walking around the block and moving to another bench down the street while keeping the restaurant still in view.

Piecing together the information from Ahone and my grandmother, I knew the Dare Keeper was female and younger than me. Since I’d been watching the restaurant for over two hours, I knew that the customers who’d been there when I arrived had already left. And my hand was still tingling, so I figured she worked there.

After paying close attention to the employees I could see through the restaurant’s windows and in its patio area, I narrowed it down to two women, both waitresses. One was a redhead with girl-next-door looks. She smiled and chatted with the customers on the patio, her laugh floating across the street. While she caught my interest, she looked too friendly and happy to fit the profile of a woman intent on destroying me. And, oh yeah, humanity. The woman who kept opening the front door for patrons seemed the more likely choice. Her long black hair was a sharp contrast to her pale skin and her dark eyes. When she met customers at the door, her greetings sounded forced. She was a woman doing her job until something better came along. She had to be the Dare Keeper.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to make a spur-of-the-moment judgment. I wanted definitive proof. I went back four times over the course of the next week and a half, ruling out the possibility of the cooks since both were men. The other women who worked in the restaurant appeared older than me. But both of the younger waitresses I’d noticed were working during all of my visits.

I had two weeks left, and I still wasn’t sure who the Keeper was.

I moved my boat up to the Wanchese docks, which were a short drive from Manteo. Twenty-five days after Ahone’s second visit, the hot, humid night added to my insomnia, so I took the boat out on the sound, hoping to catch a breeze off the water. I dropped the anchor and lay on my bedroll, staring up at the cloudless sky, second-guessing my quest. It was a crazy scheme, but it was too late to turn back now.

Had Manteo felt this way after making his decision centuries ago? Had he stared at the sky like I was doing now? I’d spent most of my life cursing him; I’d never once thought about what might have spurred him to make his decision. I’d been raised to believe he’d created the curse to protect his family and his people. I was
breaking
the curse to protect my family and myself. Ahone said future generations would speak of my name. It suddenly occurred to me what he hadn’t said: whether they’d praise it or curse it.

As I watched the night sky, a star appeared in the center of the summer triangle directly overhead—a star that didn’t belong there. It pulsed like the previous two stars for a few moments, but then expanded to at least ten times its size and exploded, sending pieces of light raining from the sky. They fell like fireflies, landing in the water around the boat.

I sat up in shock. This had to be my sign.

I officially had forty-eight hours to find the Dare Keeper and break the curse. The clock was ticking.

I steered the boat back to the dock as the sun rose, then drove to Buxton to my grandmother’s house. She was sitting on her front porch snapping a big bowl of green beans when I pulled into her driveway, like she was waiting for me. Then again, I supposed she was. I was certain her lost souls had told her what I was up to.

“Collin,” she said as I walked toward the house. “I wondered when you’d finally show up.”

I climbed the porch steps and she motioned to the chair next to her.

When I sat down, we were both silent for a minute, the crisp snaps from the beans filling the quiet before she said, “So you’re really gonna do it.” She said it as a fact, not a question.

“I have to do
something
, Gran.”

“You can do exactly what all the Keepers before you have done. You can obey the rules and perform the duties assigned to you.”

I sighed. “But what if it’s not enough?”

Her hands stopped their busy work and she was silent for several seconds. “We both know you’re going on a fool’s errand, so don’t insult me by pretending otherwise.”

My face burned.

“Have you gotten the bowl back yet?”

I sucked in air in surprise and began to cough. “Excuse me?”

She picked up a bean and tore off the end. “The bowl Manteo used in the ceremony. I know that Conner gave it to that museum. Have you gotten it back yet?”

I shook my head, wondering why I was so stunned that she knew. Of course she knew. “No, not yet.” I’d been too focused on finding the Dare weapons and then the Keeper.

“Wait until she’s with you to get it.”

“What?”
I leaned forward and turned my head to face her. “Why would I wait for her?”

She dropped the bean in hand and narrowed her eyes. “You’re turning your back on
everything
, Collin. All I’m asking is for you to wait for her to be with you to retrieve it. The spirits have spoken.”

I scowled. “It would be smarter to get it now.”

“The matter of your intelligence is currently in question. He’s tricking you, Collin, and you’ve fallen right into his trap.”

“You don’t know that, Gran.”

“Unfortunately, I do.”

The blood rushed from my head. She was probably right. What had she actually learned from the spirits? I considered asking, but decided I’d rather not know, particularly if I couldn’t do anything about it. “It’s too late. I’m committed.”

“I know that too.”

“So what do I do? I have less than forty-four hours to break the curse.”

Gran set the bowl full of beans beneath her chair and turned to me. “Then you follow through with this crazy scheme and do your damnedest to close the gate.”

“
That’s it
? That’s all you have to say to me besides your advice that I wait for her to get the bowl?”

She wrung her hands, looking nervous. “She’s strong, Collin. She’s hidden herself well for fifteen years, but over the past two weeks, I’ve been getting faint glimpses of her power. She may very well destroy you anyway.”

“So what do I do?”

“When you were young, do you remember how I told you that you are the priest and she is the conjuror? You have your information and she has hers. Under no circumstances should you share information with her. What you tell her could be your end, Collin. It could be the end of us all.” She turned to me and placed her gnarled hand on mine, her eyes wide. Her voice shook with fear and my breath caught. Not once had I seen my grandmother scared.

“Okay. I promise. I won’t share information.”

She nodded, blinking back tears.

“I’m sorry, Gran.” Why hadn’t I sought out more advice from her before I’d made my bargain with the devil? But I knew the answer to that.

“The lost souls have foreseen this for years.” She sighed. “Breaking the curse is your destiny.”

The blood rushed from my head and I leaned back in my seat. “
What?
”

“I’ve known, Collin. Since your father disappeared. I always told you that you would be the one to see the curse break. I just didn’t tell you that you would be the one to make it happen.”

My mouth opened, but no words came out.

She nodded and gave me a grim smile. “Yes, my lost souls told me. Late one dark and stormy night fifteen years ago. Right around the time your father vanished.”

“And how did
they
know?”

She shrugged, looking away. “All I know is that they did.”

I stood, my anger rising. “So why didn’t you
warn
me?”

“You had to follow your own destiny. You had to reach this decision on your own. I pushed the limits by warning you that you would see the curse break . . . but I was desperate to make sure you were prepared.”

I ran my hand through my hair, fighting nausea. “So I just go find her and break the goddamned thing?”

“Yes.”

I hated Ahone for putting me in this position. I hated my grandmother for not warning me what would happen. But most of all, I hated the Dare Keeper. Who the hell was she to plan on destroying people she didn’t even know? Who could be that hungry for power?

“I’ll do it today.” I stood and started to walk past her on the narrow porch, but she reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Collin.”

What now?

“You must give her the full six days to grow in power so you can reclose the gate. She will not be able to help you perform the task if she doesn’t have access to all her power.”

I shook my head and groaned. “I’m stuck with a dangerous witch for six days? Why do I feel like I need to bring a Taser?”

Her eyes pierced mine with a frightening intensity. “You do whatever you have to do to keep the upper hand.”

I gave her an arrogant grin. “I always have the upper hand with women, Gran.”

She scowled. “You’re too damn cocky.”

My grin widened.

Her face darkened. “Use everything you have at your disposal to accomplish your task.”

My smile fell and I nodded.

On the drive back to Manteo, I wondered if I should take one more day to find the Dare weapons. But Marino had called to tell me that they’d disappeared again. The Estate was gone. He asked if I knew anything about it, and in an attempt to get more information, I insinuated that I’d seen the collection. No dice. Hopefully, the disappearance of the entire estate meant the Dare Keeper probably didn’t have the weapons either. At least I could try to keep her from finding them. My priority at the moment was to determine whether the black-haired waitress really was the Keeper and, if so, where to intercept her.