The Curse: Touch of Eternity (The Curse series) (29 page)

“Stop it,” Sean said. “Can’t you see she’s scared?”

“And since when have you been a saint?”

Sean turned to Ashley. “Who are you?” His tone was kind. He wanted her to see that he wasn’t like the others.

“I’m… I’m… Ashley Bennett. What do you want from me?”

She looked at Sean.

“Nothing will happen to you, I promise,” he said, trying to comfort her.

“You’d better not make a promise you can’t keep,” Nathaira snapped.

“What are you going to do to her?” Sean asked. “Were you planning to kill her, just because she might be descended from the Camerons?”

“We will see,” Nathaira said. “First, we need to talk to Samantha. That is the top priority.”

“Yes, but it’s too late for that today. First thing in the morning, we will deal with her,” said Alasdair.

As all the others nodded approvingly, Sean kept his thoughts to himself. He certainly wouldn’t give up now. Again, his eyes wandered to the frightened prisoner. It was odd, he thought, given the situation. But when he looked at her, he felt a slight stirring of desire.

“Well then,” Cathal said, “Nathaira and I will go to our room, while the two of you look after our guest.” The two siblings left for the room next door.

Sean didn’t want to share a room with Alasdair, but he wasn’t about to leave the poor innocent girl alone with him. Alasdair didn’t seem to mind. He poured himself a glass of water and plunked down in front of the TV.

Unsure what to do, Sean stood opposite Ashley. He didn’t think it was necessary to keep her tied up, but he knew Alasdair would disagree. That hard warrior wasn’t known for being merciful. He sat down next to her carefully, so as not to intimidate her further. Shaking, she turned away from him.

“I’m Sean. You needn’t be scared of me.”

“But you are with this group here, aren’t you?”

“Well, it depends. Actually, I came here to help Samantha, but I presume you will not understand everything just now.”

“Sam? What does she have to do with this?”

“Ashley, are you related to Sam?” Sean asked hesitantly.

The fear he felt as he waited for her answer confused him. The whole girl confused him. Her large eyes, her golden hair, and her shapely body were awakening feelings in him, feelings that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

In his first life, as he frequently called the time before the curse, he had been a skirt-chaser, running after all the girls in the village, stealing more than a kiss from a lot of them. He didn’t think he had ever been in love; he was too jumpy for that. But then everything had changed, and he wasn’t allowed to be in love.

He had almost completely forgotten that tingling feeling in his belly he used to get around a pretty girl. But he sensed that his feelings for Ashley were more than lust. He felt the urge to protect her, to take her in his arms, and to
never let her go. Whatever Cathal and his crew were going to do, he would stop them, he decided. He hoped Blair and Payton would show up soon.

Ashley wiped away a tear, took a deep breath, and started to talk. “I am Sam’s cousin, but I still don’t see what that has to do with anything?”

“It’s simple: you are both Camerons. That means your ancestors are from Scotland and—ach, forget it. Whatever it means,” he whispered, “I promise, I’ll protect you.”

Ashley furrowed her brow and smiled at him timidly.

“Thank you,” she whispered back. “Are they going to try to get Sam tomorrow?” It was clear that she was worried about her cousin.

He nodded. But he mouthed, “Not if I can help it.” And he gave her a wink.

Slowly Sean could understand why Payton was so desperate. He himself felt more alive next to this pretty young woman than he’d felt for nearly three hundred years.

Looking both relieved and exhausted, Ashley shut her eyes and fell asleep a short time later. Sean lay down next to her, and tried to go to sleep, too, but his newfound feelings kept him up. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger and enjoyed the warm, electric feeling. He had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

“Alasdair Buchanan?” Kim wasn’t panicked anymore, but she sounded irritated instead.

“Yes, the Scottish man who tried to kill me.”

“Are you sure?” She shook her head as if to clear it. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. Ashley’s missing. I still think we should call the police.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. I could hardly think straight: Alasdair had followed me… Did Payton know? Was he maybe nearby, too? My heart felt a tiny glimmer of hope.

“We can’t call the police. They’d never believe us,” I told Kim. “They’d think we were drunk teenagers. ‘Yes, officer, immortal Scots that want to kidnap and kill us because of an ancient feud.’ I can’t imagine them taking that call too seriously. Let’s wait to hear from Justin, and then we’ll see what to do.”

Just at that moment, Justin burst into the house, panting heavily. He needed a moment to catch his breath before he could tell us anything.

“Did you find them?” Kim asked.

“Sort of. I followed them onto Kings Highway. They were going faster than me, and I was trying to make sure they didn’t notice me, but I saw them turn south onto Dupont. But by the time I made the turn, I couldn’t see them anymore. I’m sorry I lost them.” He looked from side to side. “Where are the police?”

“Sam doesn’t want to call the cops!”

“What? Ashley has been kidnapped! Who knows what they’re going to do to her!”

“Just listen to me!” I tried to get them both to pay close attention to what I had to say. “I know the kidnappers. And I think I know what they want. The thing with Ashley must be a mistake. I think they meant to take me.”

“What do you mean? What do they want from you?” Justin looked confused.

“It’s a really long story. I can’t tell you everything now, but you have to trust me.”

“So what do you suggest?” Kim asked, getting right to the point.

“Let’s go back to Dupont and look for the van,” I said. “There isn’t really anything else we can do. But if I’m right, we won’t need to find these guys. They will find us.”

“That’s not very comforting,” Kim said.

“Kim is right,” Justin said. “We should at least call Ryan.”

“Ryan? What does he have to do with this?”

“His dad is a cop—and he collects guns. Maybe he could snag something out of his dad’s cabinet and supply us with some actual firepower?”

“Great, now we’re stealing guns?” I said. “I really don’t think we need to drag him into this.”

But Justin was already dialing Ryan’s number.

“Look, Sam. If you’re not willing to call the police, I at least want to get some help. I don’t think I could take those two guys on my own. And unarmed.”

Reluctantly, I had to admit he was right. Only too vividly could I remember how serious the fight between Payton and Alasdair had been. And Alasdair had another distinct advantage over Justin: he was immortal.

“Just please tell him to keep his dad out of this. That would be the last thing we need.”

Fortunately, Ryan wasn’t the type to ask a lot of questions when his friends needed him. And when he heard that it was me who was in danger, he immediately took one of his dad’s guns. He must have known he’d be in a world of
trouble if his dad ever found out. But I was impressed that he didn’t hesitate when we asked for help.

“OK, let’s get going,” Ryan said, as he rushed into the house. I wasn’t sure he grasped how deadly serious this was, but I knew I couldn’t face this situation alone.

We piled into my mom’s car and drove along Dupont, where Justin had last seen the van. I wasn’t sure how we could possibly find the van on this stretch of road. There were just too many places to look—office buildings, the park and ride, motels, stores, not to mention private parking garages, some underground. It would be awfully easy to hide out in a place like this. There was also the possibility that the Scots had already left town. Ashley could be anywhere by then.

We looked everywhere we could think of, checking out every parking lot along that stretch of highway. But it was getting harder to see things in the dark, so when we got to the edge of town, we turned the car around.

While we were searching, I tried to tell Justin and Ryan the whole story. But when I got to the harder concepts, like the curse, immortality, and the fighting clans, I could tell they thought I was nuts. But since Ashley really was missing—and Justin was absolutely sure of that—at least they weren’t going to institutionalize me on the spot.

When we got back to my house, Ryan locked the door, closed all the blinds, and explained that it would be safest for all of us to stay together. He suggested the living room. We could keep an eye on the door there and, if all else failed, we’d have another way out, through the back door. Whether his safety strategies were inspired by the movies or all those years of listening to his dad, I didn’t know, but it sounded good.

After he checked that all the windows were properly secured, and the door chain was latched, we all tried to relax. Kim was sitting on Justin’s lap in an armchair while Justin rubbed her back. Ryan and I sat on opposite ends of the sofa.

“Hey, Sam, do you want a back rub, too?” Ryan asked, grinning.

“Oh, can you not just give up!”

He raised his hands in apology. “I thought danger might turn you on.”

I was pretty sure he was joking. At least, I hoped he was joking. So I joked back. “All right, I’ll forgive you, but only because you’re the one with the gun!”

Ryan laughed, and I smiled at him thankfully.

We all grew quiet. I don’t think anyone got much sleep. We spent the night worrying, dozing off once in a while, and shifting around on our seats. Kim and Justin whispered to each other from time to time; Ryan kept checking the windows, and I sank into my memories.

I went over everything in my mind. That poor woman, Isobel, who died trying to save her child. The dark sky, the sudden lightning, I could see it all right in front me, just like in my dream. What had Vanora said to me? Face your destiny. Remember those you are a descendant of. Beware of the fall. The fall. What did she mean by that? Fortunately, in Milford there were far less hills to fall from than in the Scottish Highlands. But the fall could be a metaphor, I realized. And if so, what for?

My restless thoughts wandered on to the Scotsmen. Alasdair was really threatening, and if he wasn’t alone, as Kim and Justin had said, then he definitely posed a danger. I
considered calling my parents. No, I thought. If Alasdair were intending to finish what he’d started, it was good to know that my parents were nowhere nearby.

I wasn’t really worried about Ashley. After all, she wasn’t a descendant of the Camerons. She was my cousin on my dad’s side; she had nothing to do with the Cameron bloodline. Once they figured that out and got ahold of me instead, the angry Scots were bound to let her go.

I wished with all my might that I could talk to Payton, to ask him what to do and to make sure he was all right. But I had deleted his number awhile back, thinking I could erase him from my life.

I wondered if he knew the danger I was facing, and if he was trying to help. But in the back of my mind I also wondered if he had turned his loyalty back to the clan. After all, he was bound to the clan by oath. Would he dare, after all that had happened, to defy them out of his love for me? I didn’t think so. But maybe. He had told me that there was something very special between the two of us.

Ugh! My thoughts were running around in circles. I could pluck petals off a daisy and know as much as I did now… He loves me. He loves me not. He wants me dead. Or maybe not.

Ryan’s return from one of his security rounds interrupted my dark poetry.

“Hey, don’t you want to try to get some sleep?” he asked.

“I don’t think I can.”

“I know. But you should try.” He plopped back down on the couch. “Hey, I was wondering… where was Ashley on her way to, when they grabbed her?”

“Actually, she was coming to see you. Her dad is going to come and pick her up tomorrow or the next day. She wanted to say good-bye.”

“Oh no! It’s my fault, then.”

“Don’t say that. It’s definitely not your fault. But I think she really likes you, and if you weren’t always such an idiot, you would have realized that by now.”

“Sam, seriously, I have never once met a girl that really likes me for me. They like me because of the way I look or because of the parties they’ll get invited to if they’re with me.”

“Well, maybe that’s because those are the only sides of yourself that you let people see. You’re actually very similar to Ashley. She hides her soft center behind her sexy clothes and her hard exterior. But I think that since her mom died, all she really wants is someone who will be there for her.”

“That’s a bunch of sentimental BS,” he said. “But thank you.”

I yawned. “Maybe you’re right—I should get some sleep.” At first, I just wanted to stop talking to Ryan, and I pretended to have fallen asleep. But at some point my exhaustion must have gotten the better of me, because I woke with a start when the doorbell rang.

Everyone was immediately on alert, and the two boys stood protectively in front of Kim and me. I took a deep breath. What felt like a day passed, though I’m certain it was only a few seconds.