The Curse Keepers Collection (35 page)

I was ripped back to my world, still choking on their hatred and gasping for air in a vacuum of nothingness. But I clung to my lifeline—my palm melded to Collin’s.

“Ellie!” he shouted my name, terror in his voice, as a wave crashed over my head, dragging me down and severing my hold.

I was underwater, the current around me a mass of chaos, but there was no panic.

I was the daughter of the sea.

My palmed burned, and not from my connection to Collin. Wapi, the wind god of the north, was here, churning the water with his gusts. The fish in the water tried to escape, but the current created by the wind pulled them closer to me.

My connection with Collin had been broken, but I could feel the wind god stealing the life from the fish around me. They swam against the current, frenzied, and then went still. The temperature of the water dropped and sent a chill to my bones. The fish were being frozen like the tourist the day before.

The wind god was toying with me, sucking their Manitou as he spun around me and moving in tighter and tighter in a spiral.

During my first encounter with the wind god, I had been terrified. I was still scared, but I told myself I had knowledge and power this time. I had to trust the Curse Keeper magic. Suddenly, instinct, buried millions of years, burst free.

My head broke the surface, and my burning lungs sucked in a deep breath before the wind god’s tentacles pulled me down again. I had the power to send him away. I only had to stay above water long enough to do what I needed to do.

My eyes burned from the salt water as the waves sent me head over heels and I slammed into a wall of dead fish. Panicking, I fought the urge to scream—a scream would be disastrous under water, especially when I didn’t even know which way was up. Collin had marked me so the wind god couldn’t steal my Manitou, or at least I hoped. That theory hadn’t been proven yet.

Something tugged on my ankle, and I remembered the surfboard strapped to my leg. Reaching for the strap, I pulled myself toward it, my lungs aching for air.

My head bobbed above water. I grabbed the board and lunged over the edge, coughing and gasping. Collin was over fifty yards away, frantically swimming toward me. Another wave rushed toward me, but I was the daughter of the sea. The water gave me power.

“You have discovered your true self,” the wind god hissed.

I spun my head around, trying to find him. How could I fight him if I couldn’t see him? “I know the gate is only partially open, and your brothers are trapped inside.”

The god laughed, a high-pitched sound that pierced my ears. “So you know when the gates are opened, they are coming for you.”

Terror crawled along my spine. How could I face hundreds of spirits who were out to get me? But I didn’t have to face them, not if we sealed the gate. I only had to face this one. “Then why are you trying to kill me now?”

“Stupid human, I’m not here to kill you now. I need you. We seek our revenge and it’s much too early for that.”

“Then why are you here?”

Collin was twenty yards away, desperation and fatigue straining his face.

The wind god created a vortex of air, circling around me, blocking out everything in sight.

“
Then why are you here
?”

“To make you fear me.” Cold tentacles wrapped around my arms, icy cold seeping into my body. I shivered violently.

The vortex closed tighter, lifting the board—and me along with it—a foot into the air.

I held up my palm, the nerve endings at the edges of the mark burning with power. “
I am the daughter of the sea, born of the essence present at the beginning of time and the end of the world. I am black water and crystal streams. The ocean waves and the raindrops in the sky. I am life and death and everything in between. I compel you to leave my sight.
”

The vortex disappeared, as did the wind god. I collapsed on the board, my heart pounding furiously against my chest.

Collin reached me within seconds, his eyes wild with fear. “What did you do?” He leaned over the opposite side of the board, grabbing my arms as though if he let go, I’d get attacked again. His eyes widened in shock when he felt how cold they were. “
Ellie, what happened
?”

“I sent it away.”

“How?”

“I remembered.”

“Remembered what?”

“Everything.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
OUR

Collin stiffened, his face tight. “What does that mean?”

I searched his eyes, hesitating. “I remembered the words of protection. I sent the wind god away.”

“What else?”

No, I wasn’t imagining it. He was worried about what I’d discovered. “I remembered the birth of creation. I was there.”

His mouth dropped and awe replaced his anxiety. “The memory of a pure soul.” His hand reached for my face, and he pulled my lips to his. “You scared the shit out of me. Don’t ever do that again.”

“What happened?”

“You completely zoned out, and I couldn’t pull our hands apart. It was as though they were magically sealed.”

“After my vision ended, I was aware that I was still melded to you. Then my hand broke free. When did the wind god show up?”

“Right before you broke free.”

This was the second time I’d encountered him. Two of the three times Collin and I had pressed our palms together, the wind god showed up. The third time, we’d been behind Collin’s protective symbols in my apartment. “He was here for me. He told me that he was.”

Collin’s face paled. “What did he say?”

I shivered. “That he wanted to make me fear him.”

Fear filled Collin’s eyes as he turned from side to side to see the dead fish floating on the surface of the water. “Did he try to take your Manitou this time?”

“I felt a tendril curl around me, but he told me he wasn’t going to kill me. That he needed me.”

Collin took a deep breath. “He’s grown in strength. He’s out in the daylight. You’re not safe anymore.”

Did Collin know that the gate was only partially open? And why was I always the target? “Why doesn’t he come after you?”

“What are you talking about, Ellie? We were together. Both times.”

“Exactly. We were together both times. The first time he only attacked me. This time he said he specifically came for me.”

“It’s because of your pure soul, I told you that last night.”

“Why did you wait to tell me that I had a pure soul? Why didn’t you tell me when you found out?”

He gave me a grim smile. “This isn’t something I want to discuss hanging off a surfboard in the ocean while we wait for gods or spirits to return to finish you off. Let’s go back to our room and change and get something to eat.”

“Why are you evading my question?”

Collin’s eyes hardened. “What part of trying to get you to safety constitutes evading your question?”

“You could have answered it already, Collin.”

“Fine. I didn’t tell you because I figured we’d close the gate, and you’d never need to know. Happy now?”

He was lying. Everyone else in the world would have believed him, but the slight twitch of his left eyelid told me he wasn’t telling me the truth.

I nodded, but I was far from happy. Collin was still hiding things from me. In fairness, there were things I still hadn’t told him. But there came a point when it was difficult to say,
Oh by the way, I forgot to mention I saw the gates of hell in a vision.

“Let’s just go back, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know. We were lucky this time. I don’t want to take any chances.”

He was right, and I was too suspicious. Collin had done everything within his resources to help me and protect me, even before when I had annoyed the hell out of him. How could I expect less of him now? Especially now.

Collin had unstrapped his surfboard to reach me faster, so he retrieved it and we made our way to the beach. He handed me a towel and watched me dry off, but our earlier playfulness was gone. Collin was on edge.

We left the surfboards where we found them and went back to our room. I stood by the bathroom door and watched Collin lean his arm against the wall, staring out the window with an anxious look.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

He looked up in surprise, almost as though he were so deep in thought he’d forgotten that I was there. Worry etched lines across his forehead, drawing down his mouth.

I moved to him, pressing my chest to his, and stroked the side of his face. “Don’t worry. We’ll get the bowl tonight, and then we’ll close the gate. We’ll be okay.” I stood on tiptoes and drew his bottom lip between my own.

He released a deep sound in his chest and brought me closer, his tongue plunging into my mouth.

My tongue joined his as my heart pounded, lust coursing through my blood. His hands cradled my head, tilting it back to give him better access for his demanding exploration.

How could this man have this effect on me? I’d only known him a few days, but I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anyone in my entire life. My hands dug into his back, pulling him closer. I needed him closer.

He kissed me—wild and desperate as though if he’d let go, he’d lose me. One of his hands dropped from my face and found the string to my bikini top at the base of my neck, then the one below. Collin backed up to the bed, pulling me with him, his mouth still possessing mine. He stripped off his swim trunks and my bikini bottom. He spun us around and pushed me down on the bed, his body over mine in seconds.

He was between my legs when he stopped, breathless, staring at me with such intensity it was amazing I could still think straight.

I reached my hand to his face, my thumb running along his stubble. “We’ll be okay.”

His eyes glassed over. “Are you an angel or an enchantress, Ellie?” His voice broke and he leaned his forehead against mine.

What did he need from me that I wasn’t giving? I remembered the first time he’d asked. Was I a witch who enchanted him or an angel sent to save his soul? Collin had been involved in a whole host of unscrupulous activities, most of which I hoped to never know, but that man contradicted the man I knew. Why? Was this the real Collin, the man he refused to show the world? He’d been forced to take care of his mother and brother since he was ten years old. Who was I to judge him for what he’d done to make ends meet? But the deeds he’d done were burned deep within his soul. Maybe he thought things could be different with me. Or maybe I was fooling myself and he’d be gone in two days. He’d break my heart one way or the other, but I’d known that going in. At this moment, he desperately needed something and I was the one he wanted to give it to him. “I’m an angel, Collin,” I whispered. “I’m an angel.”

His mouth found mine as he entered me, both possessive and demanding. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I struggled to keep up, but Collin slowed, smoothing back my hair. “I’m sorry.”

I kissed him and began to move. “It’s okay.”

Collin lifted his head, his eyes burning bright. “Ellie, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I can’t lose you.”

His words shocked me and made me want him more. This man, who never committed to anyone or anything, claimed to want me.

“I’m not going anywhere.” It was my turn to kiss him with possessiveness. Could I hope for this to last more than a few days? I refused to let my mind dwell on it as my body responded to Collin’s touch.

My response rekindled his desire. We made love in a frenzy of need and fear. Collin cried out my name, his arms around my back, pulling me as humanly close as possible, and yet it didn’t seem to be enough.

I grabbed his hand, pressing our palms together.

The now-familiar jolt rushed through my body, every nerve ending alive. I gasped at the sensation. While I was still aware of the Manitou of the living creatures around us, this experience was more centrally focused.

Collin stilled, his mouth opening in surprise.

I laced our fingers, holding tight, and slowly lifted my hips to his.

Euphoria replaced his anxiety as he began to rock against me, more controlled and purposeful. He pressed my hand to the mattress, over my head.