This Changes Everything

by Swank, Denise Grover

  “You should have told me instead of going to Steven, Amanda!” her father said. He wasn’t yelling, but it was much louder and harsher than he usually spoke.

  “I couldn’t, John. I signed an NDA. I can’t even tell you all the details, and I knew you’d insist that I did. Besides, I didn’t tell Steven. I only asked for access to papers in the library.”

  Their voices faded and Ellie realized they probably moved into the kitchen. Her fear returned. They were fighting, and it wasn’t about the curse.

  She climbed into her parents’ bed, snuggling under the covers and turning on the TV with the remote. Her mother came in several minutes later. She changed into her own pajamas, climbed into bed, and pulled Ellie into the crook of her arm. Ellie snuggled against her mother, soaking in her warmth.

  “Ellie, I know something’s bothering you and I’m worried about you. Will you please tell me what’s wrong?”

  She hesitated. She didn’t want to admit to eavesdropping. It was better to start with Claire. “Claire heard her dad say he wants a divorce and wants to move back to Greenville.”

  Her mother’s hand smoothed over the top of Ellie’s head and her voice was soft and gentle, the tone she used when she comforted Ellie after one of her many nightmares. “That must make Claire very sad.”

  “Yeah.” It felt good telling Momma about her worries. “And . . . and then I heard you and Daddy fighting and I got scared.”

  “Oh, sweetie.” Her mother’s arm tightened around her. “First of all, we weren’t fighting. We had a disagreement—there’s a difference. Second”—she lifted Ellie’s chin so she was looking into her mother’s hazel eyes—“your father and I aren’t getting a divorce. We love each other—and you—very much. We couldn’t bear to live without each other. You have nothing to worry about.” Her mother kissed her forehead. “Do you believe me?”

  Ellie nodded, reaching an arm across her mother’s stomach and squeezing her side.

  “Is there anything else bothering you?”

  She hesitated. “It’s about the curse.”

  Momma’s eyes widened before she recovered. “Okay.”

  “Daddy says I can’t tell anyone about it or bad things would happen.” She bit the right side of her lower lip. “What if I accidently told someone?” It hadn’t been accidental at all, but it was easier to admit that way.

  Her mother pulled her closer. “Ellie, the curse is all fairy tales and make-believe. I let your father tell you his tales, but I want you to know that it’s not real. If you tell someone, nothing bad will happen. I promise.”

  As Ellie snuggled closer to her momma, she could almost believe everything would be okay. But she knew something wasn’t right. It was like when the mist rolled in from the sound, making everything all blurry and fuzzy. She knew she had to make everything right again.

  If only she knew how.

  Chapter Three

  The rain beat against the windows as Ellie hunched over her spelling words in the kitchen after dinner. A cold wind blew in from the north, and her chest had felt heavy all day. It had been two days since she’d told Claire about the curse, and so far nothing terrible had happened. Still, Momma and Daddy had been acting strangely, whispering when Ellie was around and raising their voices in heated discussions when they thought she wasn’t. She couldn’t figure out what they were talking about except for bits and pieces.

  Even now she could hear as her parents’ voices floated in from her father’s office, and her curiosity got the better of her. She slid off her chair and snuck into the hallway, hiding in the shadows, her back pressed against the wall.

  “I know you signed a nondisclosure agreement, Amanda, but I’m begging you to tell me what you saw.” There was a pause, and finally he said, “At least tell me what you hope to find at the library at Chapel Hill.”

  Her mother was silent for several seconds. “Fine, but I can’t tell you everything.” When her father didn’t answer, her mother continued. “I think it might be the missing artifacts from the Middleton collection.”

  “The collection lost during the Civil War?”

  “Yes.” She paused. “But I’m going to Chapel Hill to investigate a particular artifact. It was given to me in good faith. I have a week to discover its significance. I didn’t tell Steven I had it, only that I needed access to his papers.”

  “They gave you an artifact?” His voice rose, making Ellie jump. “What is it?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Amanda, I’m your husband for god’s sake! Who am I going to tell?”

  Her voice quivered. “I can’t tell anyone, John. Anyone.” She took a breath. “Especially you.”

  “Why especially me?”

  She didn’t answer again.

  “Is it related to the curse?”

  Her mother’s temper exploded. “Goddamn that curse! You’ve devoted your entire life to a bunch of hocus-pocus and nonsense. You have Ellie terrified to death that something terrible will happen if she accidently tells someone.”

  “Did she tell someone?” He sounded panicked.

  Ellie’s heart lurched in her chest. Oh, no. She had done something bad.

  “Will you listen to yourself?” her mother shouted. “Your daughter is living in fear because you’ve filled her head with frightening stories of demons and weapons she can use to destroy them, then you tell her not to tell anyone and your biggest concern is that she actually did. She’s eight years old, John. Eight. I want you to stop telling her these stories. It was fun at first, but now you’re asking too much of her.”

  They were quiet for so long that Ellie peeked around the corner, hoping the darkness hid her face. Her father stood behind his desk and her mother rested against the front edge. She was turned at the waist, looking toward the bookshelves.

  Her father rubbed his forehead. “What is the artifact, Amanda?” His voice sounded tired.

  She didn’t look at him, her face expressionless. “A gold ring.”

  He shook his head, his brow wrinkling. “Why would they have you research a piece of jewelry? Why is it significant?”

  “Because of what’s on it.” She groaned and stood, turning to face him. “It has Native American symbols carved around the band.”

  Surprise and excitement lit up his face.

  “And this is exactly why I didn’t tell you.” She put her hands on her hips. “Not everything that blends English colonial artifacts and Native American symbols means it’s related to your damned curse!”

  “Amanda, you have to let me see it.”

  She looked down at her feet, shaking her head.

  He moved in front of her and grabbed her arms. “Amanda. Please.”

  After several long moments, she reached into her shirt and pulled out a chain.

  “You’ve been wearing it all this time?” her father asked in disbelief.

  “I’m terrified to let it out of my sight.” She slipped the chain over her head and handed it to him.

  He took it with trembling fingers, lifting it to get a closer look, then gasped. “Do you have any idea what this is?”

  “Due to the thickness of the band and the metals used, I think it dates back to the seventeenth century.”

  Daddy looked up, wide-eyed. “Not when. What.”

  She didn’t answer.

  “It’s the ring Ananias’s great-grandson had created by a Croatan priest.”

  “No, John. It’s an artifact from the early colonists, perhaps Jamestown or Williamsburg.”

  He ignored her. “It’s been missing since the late seventeen hundreds. He had it made to create an extra protection against Okeus. The priest thought the person wearing the band could banish demons on his own.”

  “Enough nonsense!” Momma reached for the ring, but he pulled it out of her reach.

  “How can you pretend this isn’t real when you’ve been wearing proof?”

  “It’s not proof! It’s a ring engraved with symbols. I want to access the papers at Chap
el Hill and see if I can determine what tribe the symbols belong to.”

  “It would be a wasted trip.” He tightened his fist around it. “It’s Croatan. It bears the symbols for earth and water, wind and Okeus.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t know that.”

  “I do. I can prove it to you. I have papers in my office at Fort Raleigh. I’ll go get them and bring them back to show you.”

  She wiped at her face, and her voice broke. “This obsession has to stop, John.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Amanda, I can help you. I’ll get the papers and come right back, but I need to ask a favor of you.”

  Her back stiffened and she tried to pull away, but his arms tightened around her.

  “I want to keep the ring with me. It’s supposed to sing when it’s near Popogusso.”

  “Sing?”

  “It has power over the gate to hell.”

  “John! Listen to yourself!”

  “Give me a week. The gate is on the island, and I think it’s on the park site or close by. I’ll walk around with the ring and find it.”

  She shook her head, turning away from him. Ellie saw tears on her cheeks.

  “If I don’t find it, I’ll stop.”

  Her mouth dropped open and her head jerked back to face him.

  “I swear. If I don’t find the gate, I’ll stop telling Ellie the stories.” He paused, then said, “But you have to give me the full week.”

  She hesitated.

  “What do you have to lose? You don’t think it’s real, so you have to believe I won’t find it. Then you’ll get what you always wanted. No more ‘curse nonsense,’ as you put it.” He smiled at her, taking some of the harshness out of their conversation.

  “Why get the papers tonight? It’s storming.”

  “Because I need all the time I can get before I start searching. You have to give me the full week. Starting tomorrow. If I can translate the rest of the symbols tonight, I can start on locating the gate tomorrow.”

  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Okay.”

  Her father stuffed the ring into his shirt pocket, then cupped her mother’s face. “You and Ellie mean more to me than anything else in this world, Amanda.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips and raised his head. “I’m sorry I’ve brought so much turmoil into your life.”

  She wrapped her arms around his back. “I love you, John, and if it was just you and me, I could handle it. But I have to think about our little girl.”

  His head lowered and he kissed her again as she grabbed handfuls of the back of his shirt. Whenever Ellie caught her parents kissing like this, she knew they had something none of her other friends’ parents had. She would never settle for anything less.

  Her mother leaned back. “Don’t go tonight. I have a bad feeling.”

  He stroked her cheek with his thumb, his eyes glittering as they looked into hers. “The weather has you on edge.”

  “No, it’s something else. I think Ellie feels it too. She hasn’t been herself for days. Something’s not right.”

  “If I don’t find the gate, you’ll be free of the curse forever.”

  She sighed, guilt pinching her forehead.

  He kissed her again, his hand sliding up under the back of her shirt.

  Ellie turned away. She’d caught them without clothes on before and it felt wrong and gross to watch. Thankful they’d made up, she went back into the kitchen to finish her homework.

  Daddy came in about ten minutes later with his arm around Momma’s back. Both their faces were slightly red, and they held on to each other as though they hadn’t seen each other in weeks.

  “I have to go out, Elliphant. I want you to take care of your mother for me.”

  Ellie nodded solemnly. “Okay.”

  He bent over and kissed her forehead, his lips lingering longer than usual. “I love you, Ellie. I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”

  Ellie blinked in confusion. “You haven’t hurt me, Daddy.”

  He offered her a soft smile, but his eyes looked sad. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye, Daddy.”

  He headed for the back door and grabbed a coat and an umbrella. He started out the door and her mother rushed for him, hugging him tight.

  “Be careful,” she said softly.

  He bent down and kissed her. “Don’t worry. I’m not afraid of a little weather.”

  Momma stood at the back door for several minutes, watching out the glass panes before she turned to face Ellie. “Did you finish your homework?”

  Ellie nodded, worry knotting her stomach into a tight ball. The moment Daddy walked out the door, she found it difficult to breathe.

  “Why don’t you put on your pajamas and pick a story to read. You can sleep with me tonight and we can read together.”

  “Can I wear my nightgown?”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” her momma said, smiling.

  “Okay.” Usually Ellie would squeal with excitement, but she could barely catch her breath.

  “I’m going to check on the guests in the inn and then I’ll be right up.”

  “Okay.”

  Ellie’s mother pulled her into a hug, clinging tight. “I love you more than anything.”

  “More than the flowers and the bees?” Ellie asked the familiar line.

  “More than the ocean and the trees.”

  It was their special game. But instead of filling her with warmth, her stomach churned.

  Her mother released her hold and smoothed back Ellie’s hair. “Now go upstairs and get ready.”

  Ellie headed for the steps, her feet heavy.

  “And don’t forget to brush your teeth,” she called after her.

  “I won’t.”

  The back door opened and closed as Ellie headed up the staircase. Daddy said if he didn’t find the gate to hell, he’d give up the curse. Could he really do that? What if he didn’t find it but it was still real? Who would close the gate then? Would the spirits and gods break loose and hurt people?

  Ellie put on her lacy white nightgown, the one that made her feel like a princess. Daddy had bought it for her on his trip to Atlanta a month ago. Grabbing her stuffed rabbit, she put her dirty clothes into the hamper, then moved to the edge of the staircase, listening for signs that her mother was back. Her back prickled with fear but she didn’t know why. She only knew she needed her mother’s reassurance.

  “Momma?” she called downstairs.

  “I’ll be right up.”

  Relieved, she went into the bathroom and set Bunny on the counter. She brushed her teeth, thinking about which book to read with Momma and deciding on her new favorite, The Secret Garden. After rinsing her toothbrush, she grabbed Bunny and headed into the hall.

  Suddenly, her right palm burned like it was on fire, and Ellie cried out in pain and surprise. She ran to the stairs to tell her mother when she heard shattering glass.

  Then her mother screamed.

  Chapter Four

  Ellie’s heart jumped into her throat and she started toward the stairs, then stopped, nearly falling forward when she heard a man’s angry voice.

  “Where’s the ring?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” her mother answered, the words shaky.

  The howling wind shook the house.

  The man’s voice lowered to a growl. “I’m going to ask you nicely one more time: Where is the ring?”

  Momma started to cry. “Do you want my wedding ring? Here. I’ll give it to you.”

  The loud sound of a slap echoed up the stairs, and Ellie’s mother cried out.

  He’s hurting Momma. Tears burned Ellie’s eyes, but she remained frozen with fear.

  “Amanda. I thought you were smart. Isn’t that why Higgins asked you to come to Charlotte?”

  “I don’t know”—she took a breath through her sobs—“what you’re talking about.”

  “I’d hate to cut up that pretty face. All you have to do is cooper
ate.”

  Momma didn’t answer, but the sounds of her crying made Ellie panic. I have to help Momma.

  She bolted for the staircase, her foot landing on the top step, but the gentle voice of an older man spoke softly in her ear. “No, Ellie. Don’t go downstairs.” He sounded so nice and insistent that she stopped in her tracks and looked behind her, finding no one.

  Was this what it was like for Claire when she heard voices?

  Ellie wanted to go to Momma, but the man’s warning sent a new wave of terror through her blood. Sinking to sit on the top step, she clutched Bunny, shaking uncontrollably. She struggled to breathe through her tears, but a comforting warmth pressed against her side.

  The mean man asked her mother, “Why were you in Charlotte a few days ago?”

  “I was invited to see an antique collection.” Momma wasn’t crying as hard, but her voice was shaky. “But it wasn’t a man named Higgins. His name was Juan Ricardo.”

  A flash of lightning lit up the downstairs, and a loud clap of thunder behind it made Ellie jump.

  “See?” the man asked, trying to sound nice but Ellie wasn’t fooled. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now tell me about the ring.”

  “I don’t know anything about a ring.”

  Why was Momma lying? Why didn’t she just tell him that Daddy had the ring? Then he’d go away and stop hurting her.

  Ellie heard the bad man hit Momma again. She clutched Bunny to her stomach, once again ready to spring down the stairs.

  “No, Ellie,” the kind man cooed in her ear. His voice reminded her of her grandfather, warm but strong. “You can’t tell him about the ring or he’ll hurt you, and I can’t let him do that. You’re very special to me.”

  Ellie’s chin trembled. “But I have to help Momma,” she whispered. Daddy told her to take care of her mother. She didn’t know what to do, but she had to do something.

  “If you go downstairs, they will hurt her even more. And they’ll hurt you, too. Trust me, Ellie.”

  She had no idea who this bodiless voice belonged to, but she clung to his words. They felt true. He said he wanted to protect her, and she didn’t know what else to do. “I have to call 911,” she whispered.