The Curse Breakers

by Denise Grover Swank

  “What about Okeus, Collin? Are you going to let him impregnate me?”

  Horror covered his face.

  “Will you stop him?” When he didn’t answer me, my shoulders started to shake with silent sobs. “You’re so blind in your devotion to Okeus that you would sacrifice even me to him.” I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. “How could I be with you?”

  He took a breath, tears in his eyes.

  “I wanted you. I’d never wanted anyone like I wanted you. And you’re right.” I leaned into his face, my anger turning to hate. “You did ruin me. Sex with David is nothing compared to what we had.”

  Pain covered his face.

  “But I can’t trust you. I’m scared to death, Collin. I needed you to be there for me. I needed to know we were partners in everything, that we shared everything. But you can’t even trust yourself.”

  “Ellie.”

  I put my hands on his chest. “If this was just you and me, and we hadn’t opened that gate, I would have waited for you to figure things out, Collin. I would have waited.” My voice broke at the realization. “But it’s not just you and me. And I can’t stand back and wait for these things to settle down, because a lot of people are going to end up dead. Including me.”

  “Ellie, please. You don’t understand.”

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t understand, because I would never pick Okeus over you. Never.”

  His eyes narrowed and I could see he was closing himself off from me again. Not that he’d ever been completely open to me to begin with.

  “I can trust David. I know that he’s there for me despite all of this. And not because he’s stuck with me because of some curse. He’s with me because of me.” I turned my back to him. “I want to go home. To David.”

  He stood behind me for several seconds and then turned around and started the boat.

  I had myself under control by the time Collin pulled up to the dock in Wanchese. I was already climbing out of the boat when he emerged from the cabin.

  “Ellie.”

  I stopped on the sidewalk, waiting. I needed to ask him a few more questions, but the more distance between us, the better. “Tell me about the Ricardo Estate. How are you tied to it?”

  He shook his head, a determined look in his eyes. “Like I said: the less you know, the better.”

  “Marino thinks you’re involved with me because of my parents’ expertise in the field. Is that true?”

  His face scrunched as he shook his head. “You know why I found you.”

  “Did my parents’ professions make a difference to you?”

  “I swear to you, Ellie. I never once took it into consideration.”

  “Where’s my pewter cup?”

  His body tensed. “In my truck.”

  “Locked in your glove compartment? With your bowl and the map?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “I want my cup and the map.”

  His mouth tipped into an ugly grin. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”

  “And you declared that rule to be bullshit. I want them now.”

  “No.”

  “I need the map.”

  “You’re going after Ukinim, aren’t you?”

  “He made it pretty clear last night that it was him or me. What would you do in my shoes? I need every resource at my disposal.”

  He swung his head away. “Goddamn it.”

  “You still won’t give it to me?”

  “No.”

  My temper rose and I considered finding a rock or something heavy to beat in his dashboard, but he’d stop me before I ever got the stupid thing open. I’d have to figure out another way.

  As soon as I got in my car and headed back to Manteo, I picked up my phone and saw that I had five missed calls from David. Given that it was ten o’clock, I wasn’t surprised.

  He answered on the first ring. “Ellie, thank God. I’ve been worried half to death.”

  “I’m fine,” I said, forcing my anger out of my voice. “It just took longer than expected.”

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” I knew what else he was asking.

  “I did. I have a lot to tell you. I can’t wait to see you.”

  I heard his sigh of relief. “I have something to tell you too. After I got back to the flat, I remembered something I read in one of the books I’ve got here. I think I’ve figured out how you can defeat Ukinim.”

  “How?”

  “There’s a chant that you can supposedly use. I think it’s similar to the original curse.”

  Hope bloomed in my chest. “And do you know it?”

  “Yes.”

  I released my held breath. “Oh, thank God. We have to do it tomorrow night.”

  “Why tomorrow?”

  “I saw Daddy in my vision, and he told me that I have to defeat Ukinim and Ilena tomorrow night. He says I can do it on my own.”

  “That’s the second best news I’ve heard all day.”

  “And what’s the first?”

  “That you’re coming home to me.”

  I expected to be attacked by some demon or god before I got home, but I pulled into the parking lot without incident and ran up the stairs, stopping outside the door to stare at the symbol in the middle of the door.

  But as I stared at it, the door flung open and David appeared in the doorway. I wondered what he thought. I was just in my shorts and bra, as my shirt had disappeared when we were fleeing from the water panther. But he gathered me in his arms, holding me tight.

  “I was so scared, Ellie.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  He dragged me across the threshold and closed the door, pushing me against it and kissing me thoroughly.

  I laughed against his lips. “I’ve been gone a few hours, not days.”

  He lifted his head. “I swear to you, I’m not the clingy type, but I’m also not used to the woman I care about being in constant danger.”

  My smile fell. “I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head. “I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to this arrangement.”

  “But it’s a different arrangement now. You couldn’t anticipate that.”

  He didn’t answer. “Do you want to go first or me?”

  “You,” I said. “But I need a cup of tea.” I nudged his arm. “Rumor has it that Englishmen are experts at making tea.”

  “Is that so? Well, you might be right. I’m brilliant at making tea even with tea bags. Do you have any in the apartment?”

  I laughed. “Yeah. In the kitchen.” I went into my room and grabbed a T-shirt, pulling it over my head.

  David had found the tea bags and was looking for the kettle. His gaze lingered on me, questions in his eyes.

  “You’re probably wondering where my shirt went.”

  He looked into my eyes. “I trust you, Ellie.”

  “I know, but I want to tell you anyway.”

  “Okay.”

  “After I got out of the ocean—after my vision—I was wringing the water out of my T-shirt when Collin saw Okeus’s artwork.” I sighed. “I’ll admit that I was pissed that he was still defending Okeus, so I tore my shirt off to show him what Okeus has done to me.”

  His voice softened. “I trust you, Ellie,” he repeated.

  I threw my arms around his neck, clinging to him. “Thank you.”

  His mouth found mine as his hands held me tight. He lifted me up so that I was sitting on the kitchen counter and slid his hands under my shirt and up my back.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled his shirt over his head.

  “You probably think I’m some sex-crazed Brit who can only think about shagging.”

  I gave him a saucy look. “Lucky for me I want a sex-crazed Brit who only thinks of shagging.”

  He picked me up off the counter with my legs still around his waist and carried me to my bed.

  “Hey,” I said as he unfastened my shorts and pulled them off. “Where’s my tea?”
<
br />   David shed his jeans and straddled my waist, pinning my arms over my head and grinning. “You’ll get it when I’m done with you.”

  My skin flushed and my hips instinctively rose. “I like the sound of that.”

  His mouth lowered to my breast and I arched up to him while he still had my arms.

  “Ellie, how can I be so attached to you after so little time?” he murmured, trailing kisses over to my other breast.

  “I don’t know,” I panted. “But I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  He slid up, his mouth hovering over mine. “Then let’s not find out.”

  I lifted my head to kiss him. He released my arms and rolled me over to my side, facing him as his mouth lowered to my breast again. My leg straddled his waist and his erection pressed against my thigh.

  He had me out of breath and begging him to enter me within minutes. When he started to roll away to get a condom, I held him in place. “I have an IUD and I’m careful. I don’t want to use a condom if you don’t.”

  He brushed a hair off my cheek. “You didn’t ask about my sexual history.”

  I stared into his eyes. “I trust you. If it was unsafe for me, you wouldn’t do it.”

  He shook his head in wonder. “How can you trust me so completely, Ellie? Not just in this, but in everything. I feel like you have offered yourself to me completely without even considering that I might abuse the privilege.”

  “Because I know you wouldn’t. It’s why I’m with you.”

  He picked up my right hand and placed a gentle kiss in my palm, in the center of the circle, and then looked up at me. “I don’t know what I could have possibly done to earn such blind trust.”

  “It’s not blind.” My eyes penetrated his. “I swear to you, you are the one person on this earth I want to be with.”

  David’s mouth lowered to mine as he rolled me onto my back. His hand lifted my hips as he entered me and I tilted up so he’d slide deeper. He lifted his head and stared into my eyes as he began to move.

  I watched him through blurry eyes, overcome with emotion. How had I been so lucky to find such a gentle and trustworthy man?

  His hand stroked my cheek, worry in his eyes. “Am I hurting you?”

  “No.” I shook my head, my voice tight. “I’m just so grateful that you’re mine.”

  “Oh, Ellie,” he murmured. His pace quickened, and he buried his face in the nape of my neck. I clung to him, wanting him to go even deeper.

  When I came, it wasn’t the earth-shattering experience Collin used to give me. Instead, it was something I needed more.

  I felt like I’d come home.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  We lay in bed for an hour, wrapped in each other’s arms. David lazily stroked my body, and I felt a peace and contentment I’d never known.

  I told him about Collin taking me out to the ocean and my vision, but I left out some of the details. I worried that I was being deceitful, but I didn’t want to hurt him. He knew some parts were left out, but he didn’t ask any questions. When I mentioned there was more, he gently kissed me and smiled softly. “I trust you,” he said.

  “But now that I know Ahone’s mark, I can get my tattoo.”

  “And how do you feel about that? I know you’ve been resistant.”

  “I think it offers less protection than I originally expected. The demons will still be able to kill me; they just won’t be able to steal my Manitou.”

  “Well, at least that’s something, love.”

  “And Okeus can still try to be my baby daddy.”

  David stiffened. “I’ll figure out a way to protect you.”

  “Short of a hysterectomy, I’m not sure there is one.”

  “No need to get that drastic just yet.” He rolled me over and kissed me.

  I sobered. “I found out about the mark on the door. It stands for dreams. I had told Collin that I was having nightmares, and he put it on the door. It was the same night you gave me the dream catcher.”

  He was quiet for several seconds. “So, Collin, huh?”

  I tilted his face down to mine. “I don’t need Collin to put marks on my door. I can do that myself.”

  He nodded.

  “Hey.” My eyebrows rose. “You said the salt was missing from the window in my old room. Maybe that’s why the dream catcher didn’t work.”

  “The symbol is probably the reason why you’re not having dreams, Ellie.”

  “Well, I’m sleeping with both. I’m not taking any chances. We’ll find answers on our own. Collin keeps things from me as a way of controlling me. I’m done with it.”

  “Okay.” His fingers traced Okeus’s scar on my stomach. “Tomorrow we need to go to that tattoo place your friend recommended to get you your mark. I don’t want you to face Ukinim without it.”

  “But I hear those things hurt. Do I really want to get it before I go head-to-head with a demon?”

  “Ellie, you’re running around with Okeus’s mark carved into your skin like it’s nothing. You can handle a tattoo.”

  “How would you know? I don’t see any ink on your skin.”

  “Humor me.” He kissed my palm. “If your father said you need the watches, we need to buy back the watch you sold to the pawnshop.”

  “I sold it. I didn’t pawn it. I don’t know if it’s even there anymore.”

  “We’ll just hope for the best.”

  As embarrassing as it was, I had to tell David the truth. “Even if Oscar still has it, I don’t have enough money to buy it back.”

  He shifted so he was lying on his side. “Ellie, we’re in this together. I’ll buy it back.”

  I cringed, my humiliation deepening. “That’s not what I’m asking.”

  “I know. But I’m part of this too now, and if we need the watch, it’s in my own best interest to get it back.”

  I buried my head into the nape of his neck. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything. Trust me, Ellie. It will help me feel an ownership in this endeavor.”

  “Okay.”

  He lifted my chin and gave me a slow, lingering kiss, then pulled back grinning. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  I snorted.

  David smoothed my hair back from my face. “We have to figure out how to get more information about the Ricardo Estate. Inquiries with my own sources have turned up nothing.”

  “Collin is out, so maybe I should give Marino’s guy something tomorrow night, even if it’s a false lead. If I string him along, he might give me some helpful information.”

  His eyes widened. “Do you hear what you’re suggesting? Stringing along a thug to use him? I think you’d be better served turning him over to Officer Helmsworth.”

  “Other than Collin, Marino’s our best lead on the collection.”

  “You do know how wrong that is on so many levels?”

  “It’s all we have at the moment. Until I figure out a way to break into Collin’s truck.”

  “Let’s not resort to theft just yet.”

  “We’ve moved way past theft, and you know it.” I yawned, exhaustion overwhelming me.

  “Ellie Lancaster, Curse Keeper and petty thief.”

  I closed my eyes and murmured. “That’s me, never a dull moment.”

  Before I knew it, I started to doze off.

  Several hours later, David woke me with a kiss. “How are your dreams?”

  I cracked my eyes, still groggy. “Dreamless.”

  “Good.” He kissed me again. “Go back to sleep, and I’ll wake you in a few more hours.”

  The next morning we got up early and headed to the inn. David called the tattoo shop and made an appointment for early afternoon. When we showed up several minutes early, my nerves were a jumbled mess. “It seems like committing my soul to a deity should come with a bit more pomp and circumstance.”

  “You want a ceremony?” David teased. “I can give you one.”

  I shook my head with a grin. “Just h
old my hand. I really have no idea what will happen when this thing is on my back. When Collin did it with henna, I didn’t feel anything until he put his mark on it. But this is real. I’m worried I’ll do something stupid when the needle hits.”

  He bent down to kiss me. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”

  “Thanks.”

  True to his word, David held my hand the entire time, and I struggled not to compare the two experiences—the solemnness and seductiveness of the ceremony with Collin and the sterility of the tattoo application. I only hoped it would work.

  We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening at the inn, coming up with a plan to lure in Ukinim and Ilena and practicing the chant that David had found.

  “Daddy said there were many resources I could use.”

  David didn’t look so sure. “If I had the choice, we’d hold off and practice this on something less threatening.” His mouth pressed into a tight line. “Are you positive your father said you had to do it tonight?”

  “Yes, I told him I didn’t know how to send them back, and he said I’d find a way.” The pocket watch box sat on the kitchen counter, and I opened the lid. “He also said the pocket watches were important, but I’m not sure how.” I picked up the one with the starry-sky background. “I can bring them, but I have no idea how I’d use them.”

  He took a deep breath. “I think I’ll bring some holy water for backup.”

  My jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No. I’m deadly serious.” He stood. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. Maybe you should call Collin for backup.”

  I jumped to my feet. “I’m not calling Collin.”

  “Don’t be stubborn, Ellie.”

  “You said I was the conjurer and that I could send them away on my own.”

  “I do think you’re the conjurer.” His breath came in short bursts. “I’m just frightened for you. I can honestly say I’ve never been more frightened in my life.”

  “Why? Because you think I can’t do it?”

  “No, because I’ve never risked losing something so precious to me.”

  I grabbed his hands and held them between my own. “Why would my own father tell me to do this if I wasn’t going to be successful?”