The Curse Breakers

by Denise Grover Swank

  I pulled the car into the public beach parking lot and kicked off my sandals when I reached the sand. It was hot beneath my feet, but I barely noticed—some primal part of me was craving the sea too much to be derailed by anything.

  The first wave of water that washed over my feet nearly brought me to my knees as power surged through my body. I walked deeper into the ocean until the waves hit my waist. I was sure I had to be drawing curious stares from tourists. While they wore swimming suits, I was dressed in capris and a T-shirt. But I was too overwhelmed by the energy of the sea filling every cell of my body to care.

  I was one with the sea. I was one with the fish that swam around me. The clams that buried themselves in the sand, only to be washed up with the next wave. I was one with the seaweed and the algae. I was one with the amoeba and the plankton.

  I felt the life force of millions of creatures in the sea and I stood with my hands spread from my sides in awe.

  Experiencing the Manitou was the only good part of the curse. I’d discovered I could feel the Manitou of all the life forms in the ocean on my own, but when Collin and I touched palms I could feel everything—all life both in the sea and on the land. Other than when the animals came to me in my sleep, it was the only way I could feel the full impact of what I was being charged with protecting.

  Other than the rare moments of total connection I’d experienced with Collin, standing in the ocean was when I felt the most complete.

  When I turned around to walk out of the water, I realized I’d drawn a crowd. About twenty people stood on the rise of the sand, watching me and murmuring amongst themselves.

  A woman with a baby on her hip approached me as I reached the edge of the water. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Why?”

  “You’ve been standing out there for over a half an hour. Every time someone tried to get close to you, a wave pushed them away. It was unreal.”

  That was new. It had felt like less than five minutes. “I like the ocean so much I guess I lost track of time.” It was a lame excuse, but it was the best I could come up with on the fly.

  The crowd watched as I walked back to the parking lot. I struggled with the knowledge that they all thought I was some sort of freak. I knew I couldn’t let it bother me. I’d never see any of them again, but it was one more reminder that my life had turned to shit.

  As I scooped my flip-flops off the sand by the parking lot, I realized I didn’t know where the keys to the car were. I found them in the ignition, my purse on the passenger seat. After parking, I’d given no thought to anything other than my need to get to the water. I was lucky no one had stolen my purse or Myra’s car. Or what if someone had taken the remaining watches? I might not be so lucky next time.

  I was still soaking wet, but thankfully Myra had a blanket in the trunk for me to sit on. I rolled the windows down as I drove back to Manteo, and the wind was so loud I almost missed Myra’s call on my cell phone.

  “I’m not sure Bruce will get my car done tonight,” I said when I answered.

  “Don’t worry, Ellie. I have a ride home, and I suspect that in the morning I’ll be able to get a ride with one of the researchers who will be staying at the inn. In fact, that’s why I’m calling. Are you busy this afternoon? Can you help me out at the inn?”

  “Sure. I’m free.” I’d been planning to go back to the inn anyway. I wanted to do a last sweep for any clues Daddy might have left for me. I knew I was putting off the inevitable, that I would have to go see Collin eventually, but so be it.

  “A team of researchers came to Roanoke Island today to study the Lost Colony. There was a mistake with some of their reservations at one of the local motels. They can’t find anywhere else to stay, so I offered to open the main house for them to stay in. I figured we could use the extra money.”

  “That’s a great idea, Myra.”

  “But the rooms aren’t ready. No one’s stayed in them for years.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. What time are they arriving?”

  “I think they’re planning on staying on site until sunset.”

  “That gives me plenty of time.”

  Once I got home, I hid the box with the pocket watches in the back of my closet. Myra would never miss them, and while I hated to think about selling the remaining two watches, I knew it might come to that.

  I headed to the inn, happy to have a productive task to fill my afternoon. The Dare Inn consisted of two separate houses taking up half a block. The main building featured five bedrooms with their own private baths, a living room, a dining room, an office, and a small kitchen. The main residential house was where I grew up. Myra usually cooked the breakfast we served to the guests in the house’s big kitchen, and it also had a dining room, a large office, a half bath, and a large living room on the first floor. There were five bedrooms and two hall bathrooms on the second floor. After Daddy married Myra, he added a huge laundry room to the back of the residential house and a large guest room with two beds above it. The bedrooms in the main house wouldn’t be ideal since the guests would have to share a bathroom, but it was better than having to drive back and forth to the Outer Banks.

  Myra and Daddy’s room was at the end of the hallway, so I started with the room next to it, making my way down the hall but skipping my old room. After I started the sheets in the washing machine, I headed back upstairs with cleaning supplies. Not only had no one stayed in these rooms for years, it had been months since anyone had cleaned them. I opened all the windows to air them out, dusted and swept the hardwood floors, and vacuumed the wool rugs.

  My phone rang when I was on my way to the laundry room to switch the sheets to the dryer. When I saw that it was Bruce calling, I forced myself to stay calm. “How bad is the damage?”

  “You lucked out this time. The good news is that it was just the alternator. I found you a used one, so with the tow, it should set you back by about five hundred.”

  “Okay, that sounds good.” That meant I would have a few hundred left to put toward my rent.

  “The bad news is that I can’t get the part today. Your car won’t be done until tomorrow afternoon.”

  I shoved the wet sheets into the dryer, trying not to sound out of breath. “That’s fine. Myra said I can keep using her car for now.”

  “Okay then. I’ll call you when it’s done.”

  “Thanks.” I hung up and was about to set my phone on the table behind me when it started ringing again. This time it was Claire.

  “So? Which one of us has a date with Collin tonight?” she asked.

  “I’m going to see him after I finish helping Myra at the inn. She’s renting out the bedrooms in the main house.”

  “Oh, that’s a good idea.”

  “But they haven’t been touched for years so I’m cleaning them out.”

  “I’ll come help.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I know. I want to.”

  “Thanks. Just let yourself in the back door and come on up.”

  I’d finished with two of the rooms and had started in on the third when Claire showed up. “What’s left?” she asked.

  “This bedroom, both bathrooms. The end bathroom is the one Myra uses, but I’m sure she’ll share it.” I paused and looked down the hall. “And my room.”

  Claire put her hand on my arm. “I’ll take care of yours.”

  My anxiety settled. “Thanks.”

  She held up a handful of flowers. “I stopped by the florist and got some fresh flowers to set in the rooms. I figured it might make up for them having to share the bathrooms. If they’re women, anyway.”

  “Good idea.” I was so lucky to have her for a friend. “But I’m still not taking your cousin as my date to your wedding. I’m wearing the pumpkin dress. Don’t push it.”

  She smacked my arm as she backed up. “Why not? He’s always had a thing for you. He doesn’t wear braces anymore and he outgrew his acne.”

  I snorted. “I
should hope so. We’re twenty-three, so he has to be at least twenty-six by now.”

  She walked down the hall, heading backward, toward my room. “Don’t ever accuse me of not trying to help you find a boyfriend.”

  “As if.” I forced a laugh. “You’re trying to set me up with a guy every other week.”

  Stopping in my bedroom doorway, she held onto the doorjamb and turned serious. “I just want you to have what Drew and I have.”

  “I know.” I wanted that too, or to be more exact, I wanted what Daddy and Momma had shared—fireworks and magic. I’d gotten that with Collin . . . for a while. Would it be possible for me to love someone else when my soul was tied to his? I faced the very real possibility of spending the rest of my life alone, never experiencing great love.

  But then again, I might not live long enough for it to matter much.

  When I finished with the bedroom I was working on, I stood in the doorway to my room, watching Claire put on fresh sheets. “I found these in the linen closet.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  She tucked the fitted sheet around the top corner of the mattress. “When did you stop coming in here? You grew up in this room. What happened?”

  “I started dreaming about Momma’s death. Terrible things I didn’t remember before.” Without saying anything else, I turned and stepped into one of the bathrooms. It was in good shape and didn’t need much work beyond dusting and cleaning the toilet. When I finished, Claire was in Myra’s bathroom, so I slipped into my room and made myself look around.

  I’d never harbored any fear of my old room until recently. As though my nightmares of animals begging for help and the spirits that tormented me while I was asleep weren’t enough, I’d had several dreams of Momma’s death over the last couple of weeks. In the most vivid one, I was hiding in my closet while her attacker stood in my room, my mother’s blood dripping onto the floor from his knife. I wasn’t sure if it was just a nightmare or a suppressed memory because I couldn’t remember anything about her murderer . . . I definitely didn’t remember being that close to him. He had broken in and stabbed my mother while I was upstairs.

  I stared at the place the attacker had stood in my dream. The spot was now covered with a large wool rug. In fact, the rug was much larger than any of the ones in the other rooms. How had I never noticed? Taking a deep breath, I grabbed it by the corner and pulled it back.

  A six-inch dark spot discolored the floor.

  “What are you doing?” Claire asked from behind me. I jumped. “What are you looking at?”

  “That.” I pointed at the spot.

  “What is it?”

  “A bloodstain.” I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was true.

  “From what?”

  “The night of my mother’s murder.”

  Claire walked around the lifted rug and squatted next to it. “I thought he didn’t come up here. I thought he . . . attacked your mother and left.”

  “I don’t know, but I’ve been having this dream where I’m hiding in the closet and he’s standing in front of me, blood dripping from his knife onto the floor in that exact spot.”

  “Oh my God, Ellie. Did it really happen that way?”

  “It has to be, I guess. What else would have caused that stain?” I felt like I was going to throw up, but I didn’t dare mess up the now pristine bathrooms.

  “Maybe that’s not what it is. It could be anything.”

  I dropped the rug and went out into the hallway, where I lifted the edge of the runner. A large stain took up several feet of floor space. “That’s where she died. Right there. Daddy paid people to sand the floor, but it never went away.” I pointed to the discolored wood. “You tell me that’s not a bloodstain in my room.”

  Claire lifted her hand to her mouth, shaking her head. “It doesn’t make sense, Ellie. Your dad had to cover the stain with the rug, which meant he knew the guy was in your room. Why didn’t he say anything to the police?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you going to tell Tom?”

  “What would I tell him? How would this help? And even if it did, her murder was fifteen years ago.”

  She waved her hand in frustration. “Police solve old cases all the time.”

  I dropped the rug. “For God’s sake, Claire, this is not a television show.” I started for the stairs and stopped, keeping my back to her. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  “It’s okay . . .”

  I pivoted to face her. “No. It’s not. My life is a fucking mess right now. It feels like it would be pointless to dredge up the past and Momma’s murder.” I brushed stray hairs from my forehead. “We’re almost done. Why don’t you go home, and I’ll finish making the other beds.”

  “Are you sure?” She cringed with guilt. “Drew and I are supposed to taste-test wedding cakes in an hour.”

  My eyes bugged. “Well, why didn’t you say so? Get out of here. And pick a good one. I hate eating dried-out cake.”

  “Drew wants a red velvet groom’s cake shaped like an armadillo.”

  “What on earth for?”

  She rolled her eyes in disgust. “Lord only knows. I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me.”

  I pulled her into a hug. “I love you, Claire. Thank you for helping me keep my life seminormal right now.”

  She pulled back, tears in her eyes. “I’m scared for you, Ellie.”

  “I know.”

  “Promise me that you’ll go see Collin tonight.”

  I pressed my lips together in resignation. “I told you I will. I’m just trying to psyche myself up for it.”

  “Be firm. Be strong. Don’t let him fuck you.”

  “Claire!”

  “You have a weakness for that man and you know it.”

  “I hate him. I loathe him. I never want to see the shithead again. You’re the one who’s making me go.”

  Her eyebrows rose as she studied my face. “They say love and hate ride a fine line. Now don’t you go riding that fine line with him.”

  Ignoring her, I started back down the stairs to get the linens. “I want chocolate cake,” I yelled back over my shoulder.

  “Hey! Whose wedding is this?”

  “You’re making me go see Collin Fucking Dailey. You owe me.”

  I could hear Claire grumbling to herself behind me as I headed into the laundry room. After I finished getting the beds made, I straightened the vases of flowers. I was stalling and I knew it. My one bright spot was that I might not even see him. This might be one of those times he disappeared for days.

  I hopped in Myra’s car and hesitated before turning over the ignition. I knew I had to do this. My life depended on it.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Wanchese was quiet when I drove through town. While Manteo was the flashy, touristy end of the island, Wanchese was the practical, no-nonsense side. Many of the houses here were older and run-down. Recently imposed federal regulations had hit commercial fishermen hard over the last decade, and plenty of them had lost everything thanks to overexuberant fines. Many had given up, deciding the hassle wasn’t worth it. As a result, the town had suffered.

  My heart raced as I reached the docks. I had no idea what Collin’s boat looked like, but I remembered it was named the Lucky Star, and I was well acquainted with his truck. A few memories in particular made me flush.

  Claire was right. I couldn’t let him touch me . . . not even a handshake.

  I found his old red pickup parked in a gravel parking lot across the street from several docked boats, and I felt like I was going to throw up from nerves. What would he say when he saw me? I definitely had the upper hand. The last time we saw each other, he’d begged for my understanding. I’d told him to go to hell.

  They were wasted words. He was going there anyway.

  I made myself take a deep breath and count to three. I could do this. I could be strong.

  The area around the docks was deserted, without another person in sight. I p
arked Myra’s car several spots away from his truck and gathered my courage to check out the boats at the dock. If his truck was there, he was probably out on his boat. But when I scanned the names of the boats, none were the Lucky Star. I wasn’t sure whether to be upset or relieved.

  The windows of his truck were wide open, not that I was surprised. He’d told me that he wasn’t worried about anyone stealing it or anything inside of it. His theory was that the truck was so old and run-down, no one would think it was worth their while.

  His smug assurance made me feel a bit self-righteous when I opened the driver’s door and slid into the seat. I might as well snoop while I was here. I pulled down the visor and a bunch of receipts fell onto my lap. I thumbed through them—gas, food, a CVS pharmacy receipt for sunscreen. Part of me was relieved he hadn’t bought condoms. At least he wasn’t screwing anyone else. Unless he hadn’t run out of his current stash.

  I made myself examine my reaction. “Elinor Dare Lancaster, you do not care who Collin Dailey screws.” But a strangling pain wrapped around my heart at the thought of him with anyone else.

  I tucked the receipts back where I’d found them and tried to open the glove compartment, which—to my surprise—was locked. “So you’re not worried about someone stealing anything out of your truck, huh?” I jerked on the latch again. “You’re a big fat fucking liar!” I smacked my left palm onto the dashboard. “Fucking. Liar!” I shouted again, hitting the dash with each word, amazed at how empowering it felt.

  Grabbing the steering wheel, I shook it as hard as I could. “I hate you, you asshole! You ruined everything! You ruined my life!”

  I beat the car until my hand ached and shouted until my voice was hoarse, thankful no one was around to witness my meltdown. I laid my head back against the seat, surprised at how worn out I suddenly felt.

  The trunk pointed west and the sun was dipping low in the horizon. Another hour and it would be dark. Another hour before the creatures began crawling from their holes.

  I sat up.

  The map was what I needed.

  Collin possessed a map showing where the Croatan Indians had thought their gods lived. If it was accurate, and the gods and spirits really dwelled there, maybe I could perform some sort of preemptive strike. Collin might not want to give the map to me, but I needed it more than he did. In any case, the map had helped land me on Marino’s most wanted list. Might as well have Marino after me for a reason.