The Curse Breakers

by Denise Grover Swank

  I pulled my hand back slightly. “Don’t let Mishiginebig eat me.” Now that I’d pissed Okeus off, there was no guarantee that I was still protected.

  He grimaced. “I’m more worried about you falling off and drowning. Last time we tried this, you were completely oblivious to what was going on around you.” His gaze flicked to the shore, then back to me. “Besides, I doubt he’d come out this far. It’s too deep. I’m more worried about other things.”

  My eyes widened. “How do you know it’s too deep?” I ignored the implication that there might be other waterborne demons out there.

  He shrugged. “He likes shallow water.”

  My voice rose. “And you didn’t think I needed to know this?”

  Exasperation covered his face. “Ellie, if you’d given me the fucking time of day, I might have told you.”

  “You mean if we were still fucking.”

  He shook his head in disgust. “You wanted to come out here, so I brought you. I’m helping you, Ellie. Quit giving me shit. I don’t have to do this.”

  He was right. What was I doing? “Okay, let’s do this.”

  Collin started to lean over again, then stopped and stood.

  Oh, God. I’d pushed him too far.

  He stripped his T-shirt over his head and tossed it down, then unfastened his jeans, dropping them to his feet.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I hissed.

  Collin stepped off the edge of the boat and into the water. He disappeared with a splash, and his head popped up in front of me a few seconds later. “I’m making sure you don’t drown, although I’m not sure why. You are the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever known.” He spread my legs apart and grabbed the end of the metal ladder, pulling himself up so that he was almost level with my face.

  I gaped, surprised by his sudden intrusion into my personal space.

  He saw my shock and gave me his shit-eating grin. “I said we’d do this my way.”

  But I knew it had been a spur of the moment decision. I swallowed, my body already reacting to his nearness. “Okay.”

  His smile fell, and his gaze landed on my lips. “Loop your arms through the ladder.”

  I struggled to breathe. “What?”

  He released his hold, dropping into the water again, and reached up and threaded my right arm and then the left around the ladder so that the crook of my elbows caught on the support. His grabbed the ladder and pulled himself up again, weaving his arms above mine. “Lift both your hands and hold on with your left.”

  I did as he asked and looked into his face, expecting to see his usual arrogance there. Instead, I saw desperation and longing.

  He reached up and grabbed the bar with his left hand before reaching his right across his chest to mine.

  “Don’t let us drown,” I whispered.

  “I’m already drowning, Ellie.”

  His mouth lowered to mine, and my breath caught in my chest as fire shot through my body. I started to turn my head, but then his hand grabbed mine, and my senses were jolted by the Manitou. The life force of millions and millions of beings poured through me at once. The sensations flooded every part of my being. I leaned my head back and gasped, staring up into the now darkening sky. A star shone brightly overhead.

  Collin’s feelings washed through me in thick waves of desire and sadness, guilt and stubbornness. His pulse quickened. He wanted me more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, but something was holding him back. Something that frightened him.

  His breath became more rapid and the star overhead began to pulse, expanding and contracting over and over again until it swallowed me whole.

  I found myself standing in a field that was flooded with bright white light. It should have been blinding but wasn’t. The colors of the grass and flowers, the stream that gurgled nearby, the mountains in the distance, and the blue sky full of puffy clouds were vibrant, but they seemed washed out at the same time.

  “Ellie?”

  I spun around and gasped. Daddy was standing in front of me. I stumbled backward, splashing into the stream. “No. You’re not Daddy.”

  His face softened, a warm smile lighting up his face. “Yes, Elliphant, it’s me.”

  Tears stung my eyes, and my breath came in pants in my attempt to keep control. “No.” I shook my head. “Okeus tricked me before.”

  “Ellie, it’s me.” He took my hand and smiled. His was warm and soft. “I can’t come back to you in the earthly world, but Ahone has allowed me to see you.”

  I threw my arms around his neck and he held me tight. His familiar smell surrounded me. It was the right one this time.

  “Ellie, I’m so proud of you. And so is your mother.”

  I pulled back to look into his loving face. “Momma?”

  “She’s with me. We’re together.”

  My heart shattered, and my voice broke. “She’s in Popogusso too?”

  He shook his head, tenderness washing over his face. “No, baby. We’re not in Popogusso. We’re in heaven.”

  “But how?” My knees felt weak, but he grabbed my arms and steadied me.

  “I sacrificed myself to Ahone, not Okeus.”

  I started to cry. “I thought you . . .”

  “I know. I wanted you to know that I’m fine. You have so much to worry about, and I don’t want you to worry about me anymore.”

  My chin trembled. “Daddy, I’m so scared. I can’t do this.”

  He reached up a hand and gently stroked my hair. “You can, baby. You can and will do this and so much more.”

  “I’m so sorry. I should have listened to you.”

  He shook his head, grabbing my face with both hands, ferocity burning in his eyes. “Everything is as it should be. You’re on a journey. Watching you face these challenges is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I have faith in you, Ellie. You will save the world.”

  I shook my head. “How can I do anything? Collin has all the answers, and he won’t share them with me.”

  “Collin has his path to follow and you have yours. Eventually, they will merge, but your journeys are separate for now.”

  “I can’t do this alone.”

  His smile was full of tenderness. “But you’re not alone.”

  Was he referring to David? “The mark on my back is gone, and I’m unprotected. Both Ahone and Okeus have claimed me. And Okeus says I’m bound to Collin in all things, but Collin is destined to go to Popogusso. I don’t know what to do.”

  “There’s always more than one answer. I taught you that.”

  I shook my head. “I know. But even if I decide to use Ahone’s mark, I don’t know what it is.”

  “Yes, you do.” He smiled and pointed up. It had grown dusky, and a star burned in the sky, growing brighter and larger until it assumed the shape of the four-pointed star.

  “You must do it soon, Ellie. It’s almost too late.” His face tightened. “But the mark can only protect your Manitou. It doesn’t protect you from Okeus’s plan.”

  Tears clogged my throat. “You know what he wants.”

  “I wish I could protect you. I’m sorry.”

  “Okeus tried to trick me into agreeing to cooperate. He said you should have been home the night Momma was killed. Was he lying to confuse me?”

  Pain filled his eyes. “There’s so much I regret.”

  “Was she killed because of the Ricardo Estate?”

  The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. “There is much for you to learn. But the watches are important.”

  “The pocket watches?”

  “They hold a key.”

  “What is it?”

  “Finding the key is part of your journey.”

  I sucked in a breath, becoming frustrated. “Ukinim is coming to kill me and Collin isn’t helping. David thinks I’m a conjurer and can banish spirits to hell on my own right. Is he correct?”

  “You have more resources at your disposal, but finding them is part of your path. Remember that it’s not a weakness
to use them. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  My eyes flooded with tears. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you, Elliphant.” His eyes darkened. “You must find Ukinim and Ilena tomorrow night and send them back.”

  “But I still don’t know how to do it on my own.”

  “You will find the way.”

  “I need more answers, Daddy. I came to you for answers.”

  “Remember the star.”

  I looked up into the star, watching it expand and contract until it swallowed me again. I felt myself being jerked backward, and then I was bobbing in the ocean. Collin had an arm around my back and was holding onto the ladder with his free hand.

  He searched my face. “I’m sorry. I tried to keep contact with you for as long as I could. But you fell off and—”

  “It’s okay. I got what I needed.”

  “That’s good.” He continued to watch me and then nodded toward the ladder. “Then I guess we can climb out.”

  I grabbed the rungs and pulled myself up, Collin following behind me. I stood on the deck, lifting my T-shirt and trying to wring all the water out of it.

  He looked down at my stomach, his mouth hanging open. “What is that?”

  The gauze had fallen off my arm in the water and the gashes were healed, but the wound on my stomach was a well-defined scar. I pulled my shirt back down.

  His eyes widened in anger. “Ellie, what the hell is that?”

  I took a step backward. “It’s none of your business.”

  His face reddened. “You talk about me keeping secrets, but you keep a shitload of them yourself.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “What am I keeping secrets about?”

  He flung his hand toward my stomach. “That, for starters.”

  Collin didn’t deserve to know anything about my life, but he was right—this concerned him too. “You want to know what this is?” I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and tugged it over my head, the wet cotton sticking to my skin. I threw it down and stood in front of him in my denim shorts and black bra. “Here it is, Collin. You’re the guy with all the answers. Why don’t you tell me what it is?”

  He stared at my stomach, and his eyes were glazed with horror when his gaze rose to my face. “Okeus.”

  “Yeah.”

  “When? How?”

  “Last night. He came to me in my dreams.”

  “How the hell did he come to you in your dreams?” he shouted, the veins in his neck bulging. “I put that goddamned mark on your door to protect you.”

  “What? I don’t understand.”

  “You told me that they were coming to you in your dreams, so I put the diamond symbol with the X on your door. The diamond represents your dreams.” He ran his hand over his head and looked toward the shore. “Goddamn it! I redid it last night to make sure it worked.”

  My stomach fell to my feet. “So it wasn’t the dream catcher?”

  His face wrinkled in confusion. “What dream catcher?”

  I shook my head. “I wasn’t home last night.”

  “You were with him.” A sneer covered his face. “Your professor who doesn’t know shit and is going to get you killed. How can you not see that?”

  “At least he tells me the truth, Collin. Something you are completely incapable of.” I took a deep breath. “Besides, you don’t know I’m sleeping with him.”

  “Look who’s incapable of telling the truth now.” His face turned ugly. “Our connection works both ways, Ellie. I know you slept with him. I know that you have feelings for him. Hell, I could smell him on you the minute you got on the damned boat.”

  Shame and indignation swept through me. “Who the hell are you to talk? You’ve probably slept with half a dozen women since me.”

  “I haven’t slept with anyone since you.” His voice broke. “How could I even consider it after what we shared?”

  I stumbled backward and sat on the metal box. How was that possible? Oh, God. What a mess.

  He watched the water for several seconds. “What happened in your dream?”

  “Okeus said he’d give me Daddy back if I gave him what he wanted.”

  “And what does he want?”

  “Me to choose him.”

  “What else?”

  I looked up at him.

  He met my gaze. “To give you something that big, I know he must have wanted something in return.”

  I swallowed. “He wants me to have his baby.”

  “He wants you to do what?”

  “My pure soul, plus my Curse Keeper power . . . he thinks he can finally make a real human baby.”

  “What the fuck, Ellie!” He looked devastated.

  I didn’t answer. There was nothing to say.

  “And if you don’t?”

  “He said it wasn’t a choice.”

  The water began to rumble off the side of the boat, bubbling about ten feet out.

  I looked over the edge. “I thought you said we were out too deep for Mishiginebig to bother us.”

  “We are.” Collin moved next to me. “This has to be something else.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What if it’s Okeus? I don’t have a mark on my back.”

  He turned to me, horror on his face. “You haven’t found Ahone’s?”

  “Not until a few minutes ago.”

  “Shit.” The water bubbled higher. “There’s no time to mark you.”

  “Collin.” I grabbed his arm. “We can fight this thing together. We can send it back to hell.”

  He shook his head, watching the water. “We don’t even know if it’s after you, Ellie. It could be a good spirit. They’re getting stronger too.”

  My eyes widened. “So they really are out there?”

  “I told you they were weeks ago. It’s just taking them longer because they don’t take other creatures’ Manitou.”

  “How come you know this and I don’t?”

  He gave me a smirk. “I can’t divulge all of my secrets.”

  The water began to shoot into the air, churning with an angry current.

  A friendly spirit might even be able to give me information. “Do you think it’s one of the friendly ones?”

  Collin scowled. “No.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  A large mountain lion head shot out of the water and then dove back into it, revealing a furry mountain lion body with jagged plates on its back, like a stegosaurus, and a long, lizard-like tail.

  Panic gripped my chest as I watched it disappear into the water. “What the hell is that?”

  Collin ran to the other side of the boat. “A water panther.”

  That didn’t sound good.

  He ran into the cabin and started the engine. “We have to get out of here.”

  I followed him into the cabin. “Why? We can send it back to hell.”

  “I can’t, Ellie!” The engine roared to life and the boat took off toward the shore.

  I fell backward into the wall. “Why not?” And then I knew. Okeus.

  He grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the wheel. “We’re heading north. Just keep it straight.”

  I grabbed the wheel, looking back at him. “What are you going to do?”

  “Take care of this.”

  “Are you sure Okeus will allow it?” My tone was snotty. I knew I should be grateful that he was trying to save me, but I was pissed. Why wouldn’t he take care of it permanently?

  He ignored me and stormed out the back.

  I hoped we had left the water panther behind us, but a quick glance back assured me it was following us. It seemed insane to think we could outrun a demon.

  Collin lifted his hand and a glow filled the air as I heard him shouting his words of protection. A vortex appeared and the water panther screamed.

  I slowed the engine and then killed it. This was ridiculous. We could get rid of the demon together.

  Collin shot me an angry look through the open door, but
he’d have to stop reciting his words of protection if he wanted to stop me.

  The boat slowed enough for me to release the wheel, and I moved next to him and shouted over the wind of the vortex he’d created. “Collin, listen to me!”

  But Collin’s eyes hardened and he finished the chant.

  “. . . everything in between. I compel you to leave my sight.”

  The water panther screamed as it was lifted into the air and disappeared into the closing vortex.

  Collin turned toward me, livid. “Why can’t you just fucking do what I tell you? Just one goddamned time!”

  I shoved his shoulder, my temper raging. “That’s what it all boils down to, doesn’t it? You want me to be a stupid girl and do whatever you say without asking questions!”

  “Ellie, you’re being ridiculous!”

  “Take me home, Collin.”

  “Now look who’s doing the ordering!”

  I hated that he was right. My temper vanished, leaving behind sorrow. “Why couldn’t you just trust me, Collin?” My voice broke. “I wanted to be with you. Why couldn’t you just tell me the truth?”

  His face softened and he wrapped his arms around my back, pulling me to his chest. “It’s not too late, Ellie. I can make it up to you.”

  I stepped back, and his eyes fell to my stomach. “You chose your side, and I have to choose mine. You say you care about me, but you refuse to stop those things from killing me.”

  “How can you say that? I always make sure your door has fresh marks!”

  “If you want to protect me, then tell me what’s out there, Collin! At least let me know what’s after me so I can protect myself.”

  He didn’t answer.

  I suddenly realized the truth. “You think you’ll never see me again if I have all the answers.”

  He looked away.

  “Why couldn’t you trust that what we had was enough?”

  His chest heaved as he released a breath.

  “You can’t manipulate someone into being with you, Collin. You can’t build a relationship on that.”

  “It’s not like that, Ellie. I swear. I love you.”

  I gasped.

  He reached for my hand. “Ellie, I love you. Look, you’re right . . . I’ve never given a shit about anyone but myself my entire life. Until you.” He pulled me to his chest. “We can make this work. I promise. I’ll tell you everything.”