The Curse Breakers

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Does he know the future, Ellie? Can you be certain?”

  I hesitated.

  “No. You can’t. You could die tonight.”

  My shoulders stiffened, and I dropped his hands. “You knew the danger coming into this, David. Do you want to back out now?”

  “Is that what you want?” he asked. “You want me to leave? Like everyone else?”

  “That’s not fair!”

  “It’s perfectly fair, but guess what? I’m not leaving you, Ellie. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”

  “Why?” I pleaded, trying to understand. “Why would you do this to yourself?”

  “Because I love you.”

  I grabbed the edge of the counter. “What?”

  His eyes widened. He was obviously as surprised by his announcement as I was. His face softened. “I love you.”

  “David.”

  He took a step toward me. “I don’t expect you to say it back. I didn’t mean to say it at all.”

  “I . . .” I tried to catch my breath. “How long have you known?”

  “Longer than you would believe.” He leaned down and kissed me. “It doesn’t matter whether I said it or not. We need to focus on what needs to be done.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t do that. Don’t minimize your feelings.”

  “Ellie, I’m sorry. It slipped out. Now isn’t the time to discuss it.”

  “No.” I looked up at him in shock. “Now is the perfect time to discuss it.”

  “I know your soul is bound to Collin. I know I’ll always be second to him.” He took my hand. “I’m okay with that.”

  My heart ached. “How could you be okay with that?” I knew that I would never be.

  “Because I told you: I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are my destiny.”

  I closed my eyes, feeling nauseated. I was so unworthy of his love and devotion.

  “I’m thirty-one years old, Ellie, and I’ve never been in love before. Don’t go and die on me tonight and leave me brokenhearted.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “Then I shall try my very best not to die tonight. Just for you.”

  He murmured against my lips with a grin. “Thank you.” Then he released me and grabbed his car keys off the counter.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get some holy water,” he said as he walked out the door.

  I stared at the empty room. I had time to kill, and I wanted to look for more of Daddy’s notes and the ring, but I wasn’t sure where to look next. David and I had searched the other guest rooms, turning up nothing. I knew I needed to relax and try to remember specific incidents of when Daddy and I had played the hiding game. But I was four or five years old at the time. I was surprised by how many of the memories from my early childhood I had lost. How ironic that Momma had made Daddy stop the game because I was too good at finding the quarters, and now all I could find was a single hidden note.

  I went upstairs to Myra’s room and was searching there when my phone rang. Claire was miffed. “I didn’t think you were ever going to call me again,” she pouted. “It’s been days.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve just been busy.”

  She heard the smile in my voice. “You totally hooked up with that hot British professor. Am I right?”

  “Well . . .”

  “You did! I was joking! Is he as hot naked as he looks in his clothes?”

  “Claire!”

  “Well? Is he?”

  “Let’s just say I’m fairly certain I have a date to your wedding next weekend.”

  “That doesn’t tell me anything about how hot he is sans clothes. And my cousin will be extremely disappointed.”

  “He’ll get over it.” I paused. “Say, I hope you don’t mind but I’m going to have a tattoo on my back in that halter dress you got me.”

  “You found Ahone’s mark?”

  “Yeah, finally.”

  “Where?”

  “It’s a long story, but I got the tattoo this afternoon.”

  “It had to hurt like a son of a bitch to get it on your shoulder blade.”

  “People say that about pretty much every body part.” I shook my head. “And it didn’t hurt too bad. David held my hand.”

  “Is it okay if I gag now?”

  “Stop!” I laughed.

  “I’m happy for you, Ellie. He seems like a really great guy. He’s much better for you than Collin.”

  “Yeah.” So why was I so sad for Collin? “Say, Claire. Something dangerous is going to happen tonight, so be sure to stay inside, okay? Do I need to come remark your door?”

  “No, my door is fine. And why do I think you’re about to take part in this dangerous thing?”

  “Because you’re smart and perceptive. Just stay inside.”

  “Be careful, Ellie. Do you know how hard it will be for my sister to fit into your dress if you get yourself killed?”

  “Ha! I’d like to see that. But sorry, I’m not planning on getting myself killed.” I heard noises downstairs. It sounded like the researchers had arrived. I needed to go down and make sure they got resettled. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

  I hung up and went downstairs, happy to see Myra setting her bag down by the back door.

  “Did you have a good weekend?”

  She looked up and smiled. “I did. How about you? Everything go okay?”

  “Yeah, great.” I smiled.

  She studied my face and her eyes glittered. “You look happy.”

  “I am.”

  “David?”

  I nodded, blushing.

  “That’s wonderful, Ellie. David’s a wonderful man. Your father would have loved him.”

  “I think so too.” But I could tell that she looked happy too. Her face had a soft glow to it, and she seemed more relaxed than I’d seen her in ages. “Steven’s a good man too.”

  She blushed.

  “And he and Daddy were friends, so we know he’d approve.”

  “How do you feel about it?”

  “Honestly?” My eyebrows rose. “It’s a bit weird. You’re my mom. But I love you, and if anyone deserves love and happiness, it’s you.”

  “Thank you, Ellie.” She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed, then stepped back. “I heard David had applied to get a longer position at the colony site. It sounds like it’s going to go through.”

  “Yeah, he’s excited about it and I have to confess that I am too.”

  “That’s great.” She looked down.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Her brow wrinkled and she forced a smile. “What are you talking about?”

  “Myra, I know you. You’re sad about something.”

  “Steven only has a week left here on site before he has to go back to Durham. His university won’t let him stay longer.” She swallowed, refusing to meet my gaze. “There’s a position that’s opened out of the blue, one I’m a good fit for. Steven had mentioned it, but I didn’t think much of it until we had dinner with the department head on Saturday night. He’s asked me to formally apply. It’s nothing prestigious and although it’s highly unusual, Steven thinks I have good chance at being hired if I want the position.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m not considering it. Steven just wants me closer to him, and he knew that at one point in my life I wanted to teach at a university.” She paused and her face softened with affection. “But he doesn’t know anything about the curse. He doesn’t know the danger you’re facing and how much I worry about you. I could never leave you, Ellie.”

  “I never knew you wanted to teach.”

  She waved her hand. “That was long ago.”

  Funny how I’d never given any thought to my parents’ lives before me. But David was right. There were no coincidences. A position opening up out of the blue? The farther Myra was from all of this, hopefully, the safer she would be. I had known this time was coming, I just hadn’t known goddamn fate had decided it for me. “I
think you should apply.”

  Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “What?”

  I smiled, refusing to cry. “If you want to do it, you should. I’ll come visit you or you can visit me. We’ll be fine.”

  “Ellie.”

  “Promise me you’ll really think it over, okay?” I hugged her again. “You deserve to be happy. And safe.”

  She jerked back and searched my eyes.

  I could tell there were a thousand questions she could ask me. I shook my head. “Don’t ask, Myra. I love you, and nothing is going to change that. I have to get home.” Before she could say anything, I grabbed the box of watches and went out the side door, my gaze landing on the rope swing hanging from the tree in the front yard.

  “Swing me higher, Daddy!” I squealed. “Higher.”

  “If you go any higher you’ll touch the stars, Elliphant.”

  “Can I really touch the stars, Daddy?”

  He laughed. “A child of opposites. You want to touch the stars while you dig into the earth.”

  I used to bury things under that tree.

  I ran underneath it, finding a patch that looked like it had been recently disturbed. Using my hands, I dug up the loose dirt until my fingertips hit a flat metal surface. Excited, I crammed my fingers around the edge of the object and pried a mint tin free. Something metal clanged inside. My fingers trembled as I opened the lid.

  A dull gold ring on a chain lay inside.

  I’d found the ring. Now what did I do with it?

  Pulling out my phone, I texted David that I’d found something important, asking him to meet me at the apartment.

  He arrived only minutes after I did, bursting through the door. “What is it?” he asked, breathless.

  “I found Daddy’s ring.”

  We examined it together, and had I not known that he’d told Myra it was important, I never would have suspected. The band resembled a wedding band, but it was engraved with symbols. Some we recognized, some we didn’t.

  “Symbols for nature,” David murmured, turning it in his fingers yet again. “But no signs for gods—that we know of. There are about half a dozen I don’t recognize, and most of them aren’t on the plank from the colony site.” He looked inside the band. “But the most noticeable thing about it is the fact that the entire inside of the ring is engraved with alternating signs for the land and the sea.”

  “The question is how do I use it?”

  David’s jaw hardened. “I wish I had more time to figure that out.”

  “So I show up to fight these monsters carting my assortment of good luck charms like I’m going to play bingo? Because without knowing how to use them, that’s all they are at the moment.”

  His mouth quirked. “I’m sure that might be more amusing if I knew what it meant.”

  “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” I gave him a kiss. “We need to figure out where to find Ukinim.”

  David pulled a map of Roanoke Island from a bag he’d brought in and laid it out on my table. “You said Tom told you that the victims were found at the lighthouse, and a quarter mile west and north of the apartment. That leaves east.”

  I looked up. “That’s Festival Park.”

  He nodded.

  “Well, that’s good, right? It will be closed and deserted after dark. Less of a chance that someone else will get hurt.”

  “But we’ll have to break in.”

  I shot him a grin. “All we need is a pair of bolt cutters.” When he looked surprised, I winked. “I learned a thing or two from Collin.”

  “Ah, the education of the American youth.”

  “So what time do you want to do this? We need to be here at eleven when Marino’s guy shows up.”

  “Ellie, I cannot express my disapproval of that idea strongly enough.”

  “And your disapproval is noted, David, but he might know something important.”

  “So we wait for you to have tea with a thug before we go off to fight demonic badgers? Just another Sunday night in sleepy Manteo. What do you plan on telling him?”

  “That Collin is taking me to see the collection this week.”

  “You know this is absolute madness, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  David sighed. “Well, if anyone can pull it off, it’s you.” He took my hand and pride filled his eyes. “And you can send Ukinim and his mate back to hell. I believe in you, Ellie.”

  I nodded. I was glad someone did.

  The wait was agonizing. We came up with a skimpy plan for dealing with Marino’s guy and one that wasn’t much better for fighting the badgers, but at ten minutes after eleven, I was beside myself, pacing the living room floor frantically.

  “Marino’s guy doesn’t seem like the fashionably late type. Where is he?”

  David leaned his back against the kitchen counter. “I don’t know. Maybe they changed their mind about you.”

  Dread cramped my stomach. “No. Marino doesn’t change his mind.”

  My cell phone rang in my purse. I dug it out and anxiety stole my breath when I saw the unfamiliar number. “Hello?”

  “Ellie, this is Tom.”

  “Hey, Tom. What can I do for you?” My gaze searched out David, and he moved across the room toward me.

  “Just thought I’d let you know that we picked up two known associates of Joseph Marino crossing the bridge to the island about thirty minutes ago.”

  I sat on the sofa, my body tense. “You’re kidding.”

  “It was a routine traffic stop, but when we ran their licenses we turned up some outstanding warrants. They’re currently in the Manteo jail.”

  Would Marino blame me for this one? “That’s great, Tom, but why are you telling me?”

  “I thought you’d like to know that this mess might be over now.”

  I closed my eyes, resisting the urge to sigh. Little did he know, it had only just begun.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  It was much easier to get into the park than I expected.

  When we mapped out a quarter mile east of my apartment, it put us squarely in the English camp of the re-created settlement of the first Roanoke colony of 1586 that had consisted entirely of men. The section featured a guardhouse, a blacksmith shop, a woodworking lathe, and an officer’s tent.

  “So cliché,” I muttered for the fifth or twentieth time.

  “Yes, Ellie, I know,” David murmured softly, keeping his flashlight beam low so we wouldn’t be seen by anyone across the cove in Manteo.

  I clutched the strap of my backpack, which carried the watches. The ring was around my neck on the chain. I still didn’t know how to use them, but I hadn’t known the words of protection and how to use the symbol on my hand until I needed them. I hoped the same would prove true tonight. “How are we supposed to lure them here?”

  “You’re the bait, love.”

  “That’s reassuring.” But true. “If things get too intense, maybe we can lure them to the water and Big Nasty will come save me.” I snorted. “It’s a sad day when you hope a giant evil snake will save you.”

  “Indeed.”

  When I got nervous, I got chatty. Obviously, David got quiet.

  When we reached the middle of the English camp, I looked around. “I haven’t been here in years.”

  He spun around, taking in the buildings. “I’ve never been here.”

  I pointed to the south. “The sound is just on the other side of that brush.”

  “So that’s our escape plan. Pathetic as it is.” He spun in a circle. “There doesn’t seem to be a high place around here like the lighthouse.”

  “Well, there is,” I corrected. “The tents are worthless but the roof of the blacksmith’s building is a good two stories tall. It just isn’t easily accessible.”

  He disappeared into a tent and dragged out a round table into the middle of the clearing. “This isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing. Climb on top of it after you finish marking your symbols.”

  “Wha
t are you talking about? We aren’t going to try to get up on the blacksmith’s building?”

  “Ellie, look at it. Even if you get up there, you’re liable to break your neck if you fall off. Besides, you need to be more tempting to them. So lower it is.” He walked over to the woods and grabbed a long stick, then handed it to me. “You work on the markings, and I’ll get started with the candles.”

  I nodded and reached for the stick. Our hands brushed, and I looked into his eyes.

  He smiled softly and leaned down to give me a gentle kiss. “You can do this, Ellie. Just stick to the plan, as arse about tits as it seems.”

  I started giggling, relieved that he’d broken some of the tension. “Arse about tits?”

  He grinned. “I have so much to teach you.”

  I began marking symbols in a big circle in the dirt, using the same ones I used on the doors, while David set up candles around the perimeter and lit them. When I finished the outer circle, I started on an inner circle of markings while David pulled a container of salt from his bag and poured a thin line around the candles.

  When I finished the second circle, I stood up.

  “According to Cherokee and Algonquian tradition, we either need seven circles or four,” he said. “Nothing in between. We have four now, counting the salt and the candles. How’s your palm?”

  I lifted my hand. “It’s fine. It doesn’t itch or burn.”

  “Then make another circle and I’ll make two more salt circles.”

  “Okay.” My job was easier since I had a smaller circle to mark and I finished just as he ran out of salt, halfway through his next to last line.

  “Remember to stay up there on the table unless they break through. If they do, run for the water.” He pulled another salt carton from his bag and began to pour. “When both of them are in view, start the chant. Read it. I know you probably have it memorized, but in the Cherokee belief system, the wording has to be exact to make a spell work. We’re not sure what we’re dealing with here, so it’s safer to hedge our bets. Read it slowly and don’t stop. If you do, start over again.” He looked up at the sky, then back at me. “Use your torch even if you can read the text by moonlight. It may be cloudless now, but you know how quickly the wind gods can summon a storm.”

  I dug the book out of my bag along with a flashlight and set them on the table, leaving the bag on the ground. “I’m scared.”