The Curse Keepers (Curse Keepers series)

by Swank, Denise Grover

  “Don’t say that. We’re almost home free.”

  And we were. Until we opened the back door and came face-to-face with Marino’s men. The two guys I’d seen in the convenience store the other day stood ten feet from the museum’s exit.

  “Fuck,” Collin mumbled, grabbing my arm and dragging me back inside.

  “You disappear in there and we’ll set off the alarm and stick around to make sure the police pick you up.” The tall guy grinned. “And we all know you don’t want that.”

  Collin slung his bag over his shoulder and held his hands out from his body. “No need for that, boys.” He walked out the door.

  I stayed in the doorway, unsure what to do. Getting arrested might be preferable to going with these guys. One thing was sure: If I didn’t shut the door within seconds, the alarm would go off. But Collin was outside, and I’d already decided that I was sticking with him. I stepped through the opening, shutting the door behind me.

  “I was just tellin’ Tony here that it was a good night for a break-in. And lo and behold, look who we run into. Isn’t that right, Tony?”

  The short guy chuckled. “You know it, Vinnie.”

  Collin moved in front of me. “What a coincidence.”

  “Not really, once Marino figured out you took the map. It wasn’t hard to put together where you’d go next.”

  “Changed your woman already?” Tony asked, and Vinnie laughed.

  Collin’s gaze made a slow sweep of the parking lot. “Yeah, I told you. I get around.”

  “Marino doesn’t like liars, Dailey.”

  Collin titled his head. “Then why did he hire you two?”

  “Smartass, huh? Good thing we’re not here for you.” Vinnie’s gaze turned to me. “You’re a hard woman to find, Ellie. Why don’t you come on out and join us.”

  Leaving the sanctuary of the shadows, I lifted my chin, refusing to let them know I was scared, even though I was terrified. “I’m not surprised. I don’t spend much time in gutters, and I’m sure that’s your natural habitat.”

  “Ellie,” Collin growled under his breath.

  Vinnie laughed. “Ho boy. I can see why Marino wants her, but she doesn’t seem your usual type, Dailey.”

  “You know I don’t have a type. I’m not partial.”

  “Then you won’t mind if we take her off your hands, and you can run along. We’ll even let you keep whatever you have in that bag.”

  Collin’s back stiffened. “I don’t think so. I’m not done with her yet.”

  “Does she know about the woman you were screwing hours ago?” the other guy asked.

  My skin crawled, but I put my hand on my hip. “I don’t care who he sleeps with.”

  “Then you won’t mind coming with us.”

  I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat. “Actually, I do. I came here with Collin, and I plan to leave with him.”

  Marino’s man smiled, but the fake friendliness was gone. “Here’s the simple truth of it, Ellie. You don’t have a choice. So you either come along with us and ride to Marino’s in comfort, or you do things the hard way.” His eyes narrowed as he looked up and down my body. “And trust me, they will be hard.”

  Collin’s hands fisted at his sides.

  Terror flooded my head and I struggled to think straight. How are we going to get out of this?

  Vinnie reached a hand toward me. “Now come here.”

  My feet froze to the concrete, my breath coming in uneven pants.

  His voice lowered. “Don’t make me come over there, Ellie.”

  Collin bolted toward them. “Ellie, run!”

  I had a half-second delayed reaction before I ran toward the front of the museum.

  Marino’s men had already anticipated my move.

  Collin intercepted Tony, tackling him to the pavement while the taller guy caught me quickly, his long legs making him twice as fast. Vinnie grabbed my arm and pulled me against his body. “That was a very bad decision.”

  Anger replaced my fear. “I’m warning you to let go of me.”

  He laughed loudly. “You’re warning me?” His grip on my bicep tightened as he tugged me toward the sedan parked at the curb.

  Collin and Tony had gotten to their feet. Collin pushed Tony’s shoulder and tried to get around him, but Tony shoved him back. Collin stumbled, keeping his eyes on me.

  I jerked my arm, but Vinnie’s hold tightened. I kicked his legs and reached for his face to scratch him but got his neck instead. I got several blows in before he snagged my other arm and hauled me to his chest, excitement in his eyes. “You’re a feisty one.”

  “Get your fucking hands off of her!” Collin shouted.

  The guy holding me started to laugh. “You got it bad, Dailey.” He turned his attention back to me. “No wonder Marino wants her so much.” He dragged me to the car. I stomped on his foot, but he just laughed as he opened the back door. I leaned backward, anything to keep from being put inside, when birds began to screech and fly from the forest in a mass exodus, swarming over our heads.

  The mark on my hand tingled.

  Something fell from the sky, landing on the roof of the car with a thud.

  A dead bird.

  A new terror overtook me.

  “What the hell?” Vinnie stood upright, confusion in his voice.

  Two more birds crashed to the sidewalk.

  I swung my head to look at Collin. His eyes were wild with panic as a slew of animals—deer, raccoons, rabbits, mice, and squirrels—fled in terror from the woods.

  Hundreds of dead birds rained from the sky. Their frozen bodies landed on my head, on the car, on the sidewalk, and I screamed.

  Vinnie dropped one of my arms to cover his head as he renewed his efforts to get me into the car. I was beginning to wonder if that wasn’t the safest place after all.

  I felt the spirit before I saw it. My hand burned and the smell of sulfur permeated the air, an oppressive blanket of evil following behind. A dark horizontal stream of smoke swirled toward us, aiming straight for me.

  Collin regained his wits and struggled to get past Tony.

  “What the fuck?” Vinnie growled, his fingers twisting into the flesh on my arm as I squirmed to get out of his hold.

  The smoke stopped next to Vinnie and became a shimmering, silvery, charcoal-gray, dense mass. “Have you made your decision, Curse Keeper?”

  Okeus’s messenger. And Kanim was much stronger than before.

  The man’s hold on my arm loosened slightly. “What the fuck?”

  “Silence!” The spirit’s voice boomed through the air. A tendril of smoke shot out, covering Vinnie’s face, wrapping black coils around his head and chest. His knees buckled, yet he still held on to me, pulling me down with him. The hand on my arm turned cold, and I screamed, unable to escape his grip. He fell to the ground, dragging me to my knees and trapping my right hand underneath him.

  The guy blocking Collin had stopped fighting, his mouth open in shock. Collin stood next to him, frozen, watching in terror.

  The mass now shimmered above the ground, next to Vinnie’s body. “Curse Keeper, daughter of the sea, witness to creation. Join with your lord and master, Okeus, or suffer the consequences.”

  I struggled to catch my breath as I frantically tried to free my arm. The guy’s hand had literally frozen around my bicep. I took a breath. “If you wanted me dead, you would have killed me already. Okeus needs me alive.” I knew he wanted the gate opened, not left cracked. He needed me or it would be stuck.

  The spirit howled and wind blew me back, but my arm was still trapped by Vinnie’s frozen body. “Do not think to control Okeus or his children, human. You will curse the day of your creation.”

  I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. Vomiting right now would totally blow my tough-girl attitude. “Not if I shut the gate first.”

  Okeus’s messenger laughed. “You are stupid and blind. You don’t even know the truth.”

  “What truth?” Could I even trust anything t
his thing said?

  “You will pay for your arrogance, Curse Keeper. I will search out the ones you love and send them to Popogusso like your predecessors locked us away.”

  The spirit’s smoke swirled close to me, its tentacles stretching toward my chest, and my hysteria rose. What if Collin was wrong about the symbol he’d drawn on my back? What if I was wrong about Okeus needing me alive?

  Collin’s voice echoed through the night as he recited his words in the ancient tongue. His hand glowed, and determination tightened his face.

  The messenger ceased moving toward me, then disappeared, howling. “You will regret this, Curse Keeper, son of the land.”

  Collin was next to me in moments, prying Vinnie’s fingers from my arm to get me free. Collin grunted, then I heard the snap of breaking appendages.

  My body rebelled and I vomited onto the sidewalk until I dry heaved.

  The sedan engine started and drove away. Tony had left Vinnie and his fingers behind.

  “Ellie, can you get up? We need to go.” Collin’s voice was gentle but insistent.

  “Daddy.” I had no doubt that Okeus would go after him. It was a matter of when.

  “Let’s get in the truck and you can call him, okay?”

  I nodded but began to shake violently. I crawled to my knees and tried to stand. My legs wouldn’t support my weight, and I collapsed as I tried to hold back my sobs. My forearm landed on a dead bird. I shrieked and scooted backward, bumping into Vinnie’s frozen body.

  I screamed.

  Collin’s hand covered my mouth, and I looked up at him in panic. His eyes were wild and I was relieved to see he was as freaked out as I was.

  “I’m going to help you to your feet. First, I’ll drop my hand, but you can’t scream, okay?”

  I nodded, tears flowing down my cheeks.

  He let go of my mouth and grabbed both of my arms, lifting me up. I took a step, swaying as my vision began to fade. My knees buckled, but Collin bent and scooped me up against his chest while I fought the darkness invading my head.

  Collin grunted as he squatted to retrieve the bag he’d dropped. He hurried us to the truck, fumbling with the door handle before setting me on the seat. He tossed the bag at my feet, shut my door, and ran around to climb into the driver’s seat.

  He tore out of the parking lot. “Ellie, can you roll up your window?” he asked while rolling up his.

  I nodded and grappled with the knob, spinning it around. How fucking hard was it to roll up a fucking window? I let out a sob, then got upset and frustrated that I was crying. I hated crying. Crying was for babies, and I’d already met my crying quota for the next six months.

  When I got the window up, I reached for my purse and pulled out my phone, calling Claire first.

  “Claire, listen to me.” I tried to calm down but my fear raised my voice an octave. “Whatever you do, do not go outside! Don’t answer the door for anyone!”

  “Ellie, what’s going on?”

  “They’re going to try to hurt you, Claire. You and Daddy and Myra.”

  “Do you want me to go over to your dad’s house?”

  “No!” I took a deep breath. I needed to calm down. “No. You can’t go outside. Promise me you won’t go outside until the sun comes up.” But even the daylight wasn’t safe anymore. The wind god found me in broad daylight—twice. But the darkness was when they were strongest. “Promise me.”

  “I promise. Are you okay, Ellie? What happened?”

  “I’m… fine.” I’d already freaked out Claire enough. No sense telling her what just happened. “I just need to know you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine. Drew is fine, although he thinks I’ve gone bat-shit crazy with the salt. Your dad and Myra were okay when I saw them this afternoon. Your dad was even kind of with it and wanted to know if you were working on closing the gate.”

  “You’re kidding?” While I was grateful he was lucid enough to protect himself, I was sorry I wasn’t there to talk to him. Even though Collin had become forthcoming, Daddy probably had Dare Keeper answers I needed.

  “I took a chance and told him that the spirits might be after him and Myra. He marked up the doors with the symbols Collin put on yours.”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah, so see? He’s safe. We’re fine. Just take care of you, okay?”

  “I love you, Claire.”

  “I love you too.”

  I hung up and turned to Collin. “My dad was aware of what was going on today. He marked his doors.” My eyes sank closed. More than anything, I wanted to be with Daddy, for him to show me what he’d done. For him to hug me and tell me everything was going to be okay.

  Collin pulled me toward him, putting his arm around my back. “See? It’s okay. We’re all safe.”

  But we weren’t. Not really. We wouldn’t be safe until that fucking gate was closed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  To my annoyance, I cried for about twenty minutes. Every time I thought I had it under control, the dam I’d built up for my tears would crash open and I’d cry again. I tried to find my anger—that this was really happening, that I was the center of two life-threatening dramas—but it stayed buried deep, just like it had after my mother’s death.

  I hadn’t seen a dead body since she died in front of me fifteen years ago. I purposely didn’t attend funerals, even refusing to go to my grandparents’ several years ago. I avoided hospitals. But tonight that man had died in front of me—holding on to my arm—and the shock and horror of the night my mother died raced into the void of nothingness in my head. I’d suppressed so much about that night. It had been the only way for me to survive, but now bits and pieces flitted around the edges of my thoughts.

  The wind howled outside but my ears strained to hear other noises.

  The grandfather clock. Tic. Tic. Tic.

  A tree branch whacked the glass outside my bedroom window. Thomp. Thomp. Thomp.

  I hid in my closet, my eyes squeezed shut. The door was wide open, but the room was dark and I huddled in the far back corner.

  My mother’s labored breathing came from the hall.

  And another sound. The most terrifying. Drip. Drip. Drip.

  I stared at the floor in front of me. Dark colored droplets splatted on the hardwood floor, forming a tiny pool. I lifted my gaze. A man with a hood held a big knife in his hand. Lightning flashed outside the window, casting him in an eerie white light. His clothes were dark, his face hidden. Every part of him was black and gray except for the crimson blood dripping from his hand and the knife.

  I screamed.

  “Ellie, it’s okay. You’re okay.” Collin’s voice interrupted the rush of images, his hand brushing my head.

  I jolted upright, wiping my hair out of my face. I was sweating like a pig, and my hair was plastered to my cheek. We were still in the truck, which was like a sauna with the windows rolled up. “What happened?”

  “You fell asleep. Did you have a nightmare?”

  I nodded, looking out the windows. My hands shook again, and I took a deep breath. My limited memories of the night of my mother’s death didn’t include any part of what I’d just dreamed. Had it really happened that way? Or had my subconscious mixed with my fear from tonight and the last few days and added to my existing trauma? Did it really matter? I focused on the road in front of us, trying to think about anything else but the pictures in my head.

  “Was it about tonight?”

  I shook my head, but my fear made it exaggerated. I needed to get my shit together. “No. It was about my mother.”

  “Ellie—”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” I swung my head around to take in the scenery. “Where are we?”

  “About five minutes from Manteo.”

  “I’ve been asleep that long? Why didn’t you wake me?”

  “I didn’t see the point. Not until your nightmare. It took me several seconds to wake you up. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Okay?” I laughed, b
ut my voice shook. I pressed my knuckle to my mouth, nipping the skin on the back of my finger. “Okay? How can I be okay? Dead birds rained from the sky. A man died right in front of me—holding my arm. He had his Manitou sucked out of him right there while we watched, and his body froze—and he was still holding my arm—until you broke his fingers to get me loose. You broke his fingers, Collin.” Nausea bubbled with my rising hysteria. “How can I be okay?”

  Collin’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. His jaw clenched, and I’d never seen him look so uncertain in the time I’d known him. So lost.

  “I’m scared, Collin. I’ve never been more scared in my life.”

  His hand found mine and he encompassed it, squeezing tight as though I were his lifeline. And then it occurred to me that I was so busy going through my own personal freak-out that I’d never once stopped to think that Collin was going through this too. He was always so confident, so cocky. I never questioned that this might be just as hard for him. Sure, he’d heard all the stories and made all the preparations, but it was one thing to hear the tales and another to actually live through it.

  “Are you okay?”

  He turned to me, surprise on his face.

  “Tonight had to freak you out just as much as it did me.”

  “Yes, but not the same way. I had to stand there and watch Marino’s guy grab you, touch you, threaten you. I couldn’t get past Tony to help you. I couldn’t save you. The spirit did.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Collin?”

  “If Okeus’s messenger hadn’t shown up, you’d be with Marino right now.”

  “We would have figured something out.”

  He didn’t answer, but he didn’t look convinced.

  “Saying Okeus’s messenger saved me is like saying a lion saves a baby gazelle when the lion shows up to eat the hyena.”

  “Ellie.” He swallowed and his fingers squeezed my hand tighter. “You told the spirit that Okeus needs you alive to open the gate the rest of the way. I think you might be right.” He shifted in his seat and cast a glance at me. “What if his appearance wasn’t a coincidence?”

  “That would make Okeus omnipotent, Collin,” I whispered. “Even locked behind the gate.”