I knew it wasn’t true, but his words ripped my heart to shreds.
He picked up my panties and lifted them to his face to smell them before tossing them at me with a leer. “I’m going to miss fucking you, but I might miss going down on you even more.”
My breath caught at his crassness. Never once in the time we’d been together had he ever talked to me this way. Not even in the beginning, when he’d been full of resentment. “Don’t be ugly, Collin.”
“Why not? Look at the way you’ve been acting.” He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. “Get out of my truck.”
Anger rushed through me. “Not until you give me the map.”
“I’m not giving you anything. Now get out of my truck.”
“No!”
He lunged across the seat and opened the passenger door, pushing me toward the opening.
I tried to grab hold of the dashboard, but my hands slipped. “You owe me that map, Collin. What the hell do you need it for? Why won’t you give it to me?”
An ugly look spread across his face. “I thought you would have figured me out by now, Ellie. I don’t need a reason to keep it. The fact that you want it is reason enough.” He gave me one last shove out the door.
The gravel poked my bare feet and I stumbled to remain upright as Collin slammed the door.
I gaped at him through the open window. “You’d let those monsters kill me?”
He tossed my T-shirt and panties out the window at me. “You know what you need to do to save yourself.” He started his truck and backed out, shooting gravel in every direction as I jumped out of the way.
I really was as good as dead.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I watched his truck lights disappear, still dazed. Although I wasn’t sure what I expected, this definitely wasn’t it. I stood there in shock, wondering what I should do next. I had two choices: I could go home and cry into my pillow, or I could fight.
It wasn’t a question, really. I was going to fight. Too bad I still didn’t know how to do that.
Headlights appeared, rounding the curve behind me, and I realized I was standing on the side of the road in my skirt and bra, my T-shirt and panties in my hands and no shoes on my feet. Somehow I’d lost my flip-flops in Collin’s truck. The sun had set and I needed to get home. Standing out here like this, I was vulnerable in both the spiritual and the earthly worlds.
I jerked my T-shirt over my head as I gingerly walked across the gravel to Myra’s car. I’d left my purse and keys inside again since I hadn’t planned on falling asleep in his truck. And I sure hadn’t planned on anything else that had happened.
My skin flamed at the thought and horror quickly followed. How could I so quickly and easily lose all control with that man?
The approaching car slowed down, and a man leaned out the open passenger window. “Hey, baby. It’s still early. Want to hang out? We’ll make it worth your while.” He waved several twenty dollar bills in his hand.
They had seen me standing half naked on the side of the road as Collin drove away. They thought I was a prostitute. Thank you, Collin Fucking Dailey. I squared my shoulders and shot the guy my meanest glare. “Fuck off.”
I continued heading toward my car, but the beat-up Cadillac shifted into reverse, keeping up with me.
“Oh, come on, baby. Don’t be like that.”
Fear squirmed in my gut. I might be in serious trouble here. Just one more reason to hate Collin.
I reached for the door to the car as the guy opened his door and hopped out. I had my door open when he reached me, pushing me into the inside of the door panel.
“My money’s just as good as that other guy’s.”
I balled my fists to hide my shaking. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. You can’t afford me, asshole.” I knew it was wrong to provoke him, but anger was still rushing through my veins. If I couldn’t take out my frustration on Collin, the stupid part of me wanted to take it out on this potential rapist.
Brilliant.
The guy leaned closer, an ugly leer spreading across his face.
“Bobby,” a guy called from the idling car. “Let it go, man.”
Bobby’s beer breath blew into my face and I nearly gagged, clenching my jaw to keep from adding a smart-ass comment. Bobby was drunk and teetering on the edge of violence. My next words might topple him over.
He blocked my escape with one arm. “I don’t think so.” Snagging the panties out of my hand, he threw them to the ground.
Oh, shit.
If I could get into the car and lock the door, I’d have a chance to escape. “Listen to your friend, Bobby,” I said with just a bit too much attitude.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him, and I tried to dig into the ground, stumbling when the gravel stabbed the bottom of my feet.
“Bobby, what the fuck are you doing?” his friend wailed.
“This bitch thinks she’s too good for me.”
“Not thinks,” I snarled, my feet in agony as I tried to get away. “I know I am.”
His free hand grabbed a handful of my skirt and started to lift it up.
Oh, God.
Slapping his hand away, I fought harder to shake his hold on my arm, which only made him laugh. “Too good for me now?”
“Bobby!” his friend shouted.
Bobby laughed and dropped my skirt, tugging me across the road toward the docks.
There was no way I was letting him get me onto one of the fishing boats. I kicked his shin, ignoring the pain that shot through my toes and up my leg. My blow barely fazed him.
The water began to ripple in the small cove beside us.
Bobby chose the second boat and stepped over the edge, pulling me with him. His hand slid up my leg and under my skirt, cupping my ass as he hoisted me over the edge.
“Get your hands off me.” I jerked backward, but he laughed and tightened his grip.
He pulled me toward the cabin door, and I frantically searched for something to use as a weapon. I spotted a wrench lying next to an open hatch in the center of the deck, but I was going to have to break free to reach it.
When we were next to the hatch, I forced myself to go limp. His hold slipped and I dropped to the deck. He was only momentarily surprised, but it was long enough for me to grab the tool with my left hand and smash it into the side of his head.
His eyes widened and he stumbled backward.
As I ran across the deck, trying not to get tangled in the loose fishing net, the wrench still clenched in my fist, I glanced over my shoulder and saw a shadow rising behind him accompanied by a loud hiss.
Oh, shit.
Bobby wobbled, then fell to his knees, blood streaming down the side of his face.
Frantic to escape two different threats, I climbed over the edge of the boat onto the dock. But the hissing grew louder, and I turned around to face the creature from my nightmares.
The shadow shimmered, then took the nearly opaque form of a giant snake.
Mishiginebig appeared, his red glowing eyes narrowing on Bobby. “Who dares to touch what belongs to Okeus?”
Bobby fell, landing on a pail. The blow to his head still had him befuddled. He looked up and his eyes widened. “Holy shit.”
“Let’s get out of here, dude!” Bobby’s friend shouted, climbing out of his car.
Bobby tried to stand but got caught in a pile of net and fell to his knees. He leaned over to untangle himself, his eyes on the snake.
“This witness to creation does not belong to you,” Mishiginebig said in a menacing tone as he rose even higher, towering at least fifteen feet over us.
After making another effort to stand, Bobby lost his balance again, his legs becoming even more twisted in the net. “I’m sorry!” He shook his head. “What the fuck! I’m talking to a giant snake!”
I backed up, terror rushing through my blood as I dropped the wrench and flexed my right hand.
Mishiginebig leaned over the boat until he was about six feet
over Bobby, his forked tongue darting in and out of his partially open mouth. His fangs gleamed in the moonlight. “You must make atonement.”
Giving up on the net, Bobby tried to scoot away from the creature. “Whatever you say! I’m sorry!”
The snake grinned and rose higher, his mouth opening wide.
I backed into a pole, my heart beating hard against my rib cage.
Bobby began shouting and tugging at the net in frantic fits and starts.
So quickly I almost missed it, Mishiginebig dove, engulfing my attacker’s body up to the waist in his gullet. Bobby’s legs kicked frantically, and his muffled screams filled the silent night. The snake reared up and tossed back his head, swallowing the man to his knees.
Bobby’s friend, who had been standing next to his car in silent awe and terror, made some incoherent shout. I stayed plastered against the pole, watching in horror as the snake tilted back its head one final time and swallowed the rest of the man, tangled fishing net and all.
The car in the street sped off, tires squealing.
I had to be dreaming.
The lump in Mishiginebig’s throat moved lower as the snake’s muscles contracted. The serpent sank into the water until its head was level with mine. His red eyes watched me as his tongue darted out of his mouth.
My body screamed for flight, but my head told me to stand strong. There was no way I could outrun this thing. “Am I next?”
“As much as I covet your Manitou, I dare not defy Okeus.”
So why was it here? To save me? I knew I should take comfort in the fact that the creepy crawly things in the night planned to protect me instead of eat me, but I couldn’t help thinking something even nastier was waiting for me in the end.
“But Ahone has claimed me.”
The snake grinned. “That’s what makes it even better.” Then he lowered into the water, waves gently rippling across the cove.
I watched the spot where he’d disappeared, still frozen against the light pole.
Move, Ellie!
I barely felt the gravel beneath my feet as I ran to Myra’s car, locking myself inside. My fingers shook as I turned over the ignition. Barely looking behind me, I jerked the car in reverse, then slammed it into gear and sped through Wanchese on the way back to Manteo.
Several minutes after I took off, my phone started to ring.
“I’ve been calling you for an hour, Ellie!” Claire shouted. “Why haven’t you answered?”
“I . . .” I didn’t even know where to begin.
“You chickened out, didn’t you?”
“What?” I looked down at the speedometer. I was driving twenty miles over the speed limit. “No. I saw him.”
It felt like it had happened days ago instead of less than ten minutes.
“And?”
“He’s a prick, that’s what happened. He claims he doesn’t know Ahone’s mark and says I need to use Okeus’s. And he refused to give me the map. When I asked him why he wouldn’t give it to me since he didn’t need it, he told me it was because I did.”
“Are you serious?” she asked in disbelief.
Sure, I had left a whole lot out of the conversation, but I wasn’t ready to get into the near sex miss. Not after what just happened.
“He would really leave you defenseless like that?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I’d cried enough tears over that man to earn my title of daughter of the sea. But I still couldn’t believe how cold he’d been in those last few minutes. “He told me that I know what I need to do to save myself.”
Claire was silent for several seconds. “What are you going to do?” She sounded like she was about to cry, something I’d only seen her do a handful of times.
I ran my fingers through my hair, my panic rising with her concern. “I don’t know. Someone has to know about these things. Dr. Preston isn’t the only professor specializing in North Carolina Native American tribes.”
“But he’s the best.”
“Not helping, Claire!” My terror mounted the closer I got to town. “He wouldn’t help me, so I’ll just have to find someone who will. I’ll do more research when I get home. Surely someone knows something.” My voice broke.
“Ellie, come over here tonight. I’m worried about you.”
“No.” I sucked in a breath and steeled my back. “No. It’s safer for you if I stay away.” I couldn’t help wondering if any and all contact with her was dangerous. The spirits had targeted people who were close to me before. What was to stop them from doing it again? If I were truly selfless, I would disown them all and hide somewhere until I sorted this out, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“Are the marks still on your door?” Claire asked. “Are they still dark enough?”
“Yes, they’re fine.”
I’d redone the marks at the inn and the house after I’d finished cleaning out the upstairs.
Claire’s voice lowered. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“Won’t you get in trouble if you take off work again?” I turned down my street, eager to get behind my closed and marked door.
“Well . . .”
“I won’t be able to go anywhere until the day after tomorrow anyway,” I lied. “Bruce is still working on my car.”
“Okay.”
Red flashing lights appeared in my rearview mirror and I groaned, looking down at the speedometer. I was going ten miles over the limit. “I have to go, Claire. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I was close enough to home that I pulled into my parking lot and got out of my car, slinging my purse over my shoulder.
Tom pulled in beside me and got out of his cruiser, wearing his uniform. Did that man ever take a day off? “In a hurry to get home, Ellie?”
I shrugged. “It’s been a hell of a day.”
He walked around the hood of his car and stood four feet in front of me. “You look a little pale.”
I glanced up at the streetlight. “I’m not sure how you can tell under this light, but you’re right. The curse of the English.”
“Where’ve you been, Ellie?”
I narrowed my gaze. “Is there a town curfew I’m unaware of?”
Tom crossed his arms. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“Were you in Wanchese?”
Oh, shit. I held my ground. “I’m sorry. Does Wanchese have a restraining order against me?”
“This is serious, Ellie.” He moved closer, hooking his thumb on his belt. “Were you in Wanchese?”
“I don’t think I have an answer to that question.”
His eyes narrowed. “Well, let me make it really clear for you. The Dare County Sheriff’s Office got a call from a freaked-out guy who said his buddy got swallowed by a giant snake at the docks at Wanchese. Know anything about that?”
“Sounds like your meth lab busts haven’t hit hard enough.”
“This man claimed his friend was with a redheaded woman wearing a white skirt and blue shirt.”
I resisted the urge to look down at my clothes. “So what’s this got to do with me?”
“Where are your shoes?”
“Is it a crime to go barefoot now, Officer?”
He bristled, and I felt like an ass. But the deeper Tom tried to dig into this mess, the more his life was at risk.
“I’ll have to ask you again. Know anything about a giant snake eating a man down by the docks?”
I tried to laugh. “Do you know how ridiculous you sound?” I lifted my hands in surrender. “You got me. My pet snake Big Nasty got loose and ate a guy. Oops.” But the memory of Mishiginebig chowing down on Bobby shot through me, making me nauseous.
“There’s a dead man floating in the cove with giant holes in his body, Ellie.”
Good, God. How fast was the response of the Dare County Sheriff’s Office in Wanchese? Perhaps I should consider relocating.
“Are you accusing me of a crime, Tom?” Weariness washed over me.
He noted the def
eat in my voice and leaned in closer. “No, Ellie. Like I said, I think you’ve got yourself mixed up in something bad.”
“And what do you think this something is?”
He shook his head, looking frustrated. “I don’t know.”
It occurred to me if I told Tom everything about Marino, it might solve two of my problems. I had the potential to get both men off my back. But I was too tired to deal with it now. I’d save that idea for when I needed to use it.
I offered him a tired smile. “Tom, I appreciate all that you’re doing for me, but you’re wasting your time and Manteo’s taxpayer dollars. I promise if something comes up that requires police assistance, you’ll be the first man I call.”
He frowned. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It’s the best I’ve got right now.”
Sighing, he pulled a card out of his pocket. “I had a feeling you’d say that.” He handed it to me with a stern expression. “My cell phone is written on the back. If it’s an emergency, call 911. But if it’s not, and you want to talk to me, call my cell. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
I took the card, hating myself for actually considering using it. “Okay.”
“I’m going to let the speeding issue go with a warning, and I’m going to watch you head inside your apartment to make sure you’re safe.”
Little did he know that I was safer than he was.
For now.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I spent over an hour searching the Internet for professors of North Carolina Native American studies. I found Dr. Debra Higgins at UNC in Pembroke, almost a five-hour drive away. I planned to call in the morning and see if I could make an appointment with her. Perhaps a woman would be better, since I seemed to have zero luck with men.
Next I searched for information on Mishiginebig, and after a little reshuffling of my search terms, I found a reference to him at the bottom of a Wikipedia page. Only he wasn’t just part of the Algonquian/Croatan belief system, he was part of the folklore of many native religions.
This changed everything.
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