* * *
Screaming. Crazed and desperate. The sound filled her with fear. Indecipherable words filled her thoughts. Their pleading tone was hard to mistake. This is a nightmare, she thought frantically. It’s not real. The words became hard and insistent. Fingers searched her face. Claws dug into her sides. Brutal hands tried to drag her down.
Emma sat up with a start, her heart pounding. Sweat beaded her brow. She had kicked the covers off her bed. Her clock read two a.m. Just a nightmare. They’re far away and I’m safe. She felt anxious and fought an irrational urge to return to the island. Why do I keep feeling like that? I don’t need to return. I don’t. Agitated, she got up to get herself a glass of water. She watched the faucet run for a long while before it occurred to her to fill her glass.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
EMMA SPENT THE MORNING needlessly tidying her small apartment. Even if Nathanial doesn’t show up, it needs cleaning, anyway. Lost in her task, she found herself grabbing a backpack from her closet. She stuffed a pair of jeans into it. What am I doing? She paused, backpack in hand. I’m wasting time. I need to go back to Sownipok. The thought came unbidden.
“No, I don’t,” she said emphatically. “Nathanial and I need to figure out what to do first.” She carefully unpacked the backpack and set it aside.
She was wiping the kitchen counters down when the doorbell rang. Emma glanced at the clock. “Nine thirty on the dot,” she murmured, somewhat surprised.
Nathanial stood there, looking handsome in dark jeans and a navy pullover sweater. He held a bouquet of white roses. “Here.” He handed them to her. “I thought you deserved flowers that weren’t wilted.”
“Thank you! They’re…beautiful.”
“They reminded me of you.” He gave her an embarrassed smile.
“C-Come in,” she stammered. “I’ll…put these in water.” It suddenly occurred to her how dark her apartment was, and she switched on the light. “I’d open the curtains, but people treat it like channel Emma.”
“I did see some transients out front.”
“If a top floor apartment ever opened up, I’d move in a second.” She filled a vase with water. “I can’t even open my windows in the summer.”
“Would someone break in?”
“Probably. It’s not Sownipok,” she said. “Not that I’d want a whole island to myself, but…”
“Fae never wanted a whole island.” He caught her look of disbelief. “I think isolation was a way of dealing with her pain.”
“Is that why you live on your boat?”
His gaze shifted for a second. “Perhaps.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“No, you’re right,” he said.
“Would you ever consider a place like Timber Point?”
“I’ve considered it.” His molten gold gaze captured her own. “I’ve never had a reason to settle down before.”
Emma’s heart fluttered. Before what?
His cheeks darkened under his tan. “We’d better get going.”
“Yeah, I’m starving.” Which was a complete lie. Breakfast was the furthest thing from her mind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“LOCAL HISTORY BOOKS are in this section.” The librarian gave Nathanial an appreciative glance as he bent to pull a book from the bottom shelf. Catching Emma’s look, she colored. “Not sure about the history of the smaller islands, but I’ll do a search in the main database and see what I can find.”
“Thank you.” Emma slipped a book from the shelf and sat cross-legged on the floor. Thumbing through the pages, she was disheartened to see it held nothing helpful. She pulled down another.
Nathanial walked along the shelves, pulling out the occasional book and putting it back again. After several moments, he murmured something about checking another section.
An hour ticked by. Emma tossed another book aside with a frustrated sigh.
“Emma, take a look at this.” Nathanial joined her, a small, worn book in his hands. “It’s from Folktales of the People.” He sat beside her and read aloud. “Many centuries ago, there was a small tribe who lived on a faraway island. Two demons warred over the tribe, each claiming that the tribe’s people belonged to them. The Stealer of Tears would capture the men and drown them. He would then return to feed off the tears of the family. The Fear Eater would do the same, but this demon was a trickster and not to be trusted. The Fear Eater would offer to return the men in exchange for one of their women. If the family agreed, the deal was made, and the woman was never heard from again. Other times, the Fear Eater would capture the men and would return disguised as the missing loved one. He would then consume the entire family, one by one, saving the women for last.”
“That’s them,” Emma said, her heart racing. “What else does it say?”
“One of the families had a beautiful daughter who loved music. She sang to the sound of bells and her voice would rival them,” he continued. “Stories of her beauty and song traveled far and wide. A traveler, hearing these stories, journeyed to the island to try to win her affections. When his gaze fell upon the girl, he immediately fell in love with her. He offered her a gift, a small mirror of polished obsidian, in the hopes that it would win him favor. The Fear Eater became jealous, for he had planned to take the girl as his own. He tracked the outsider down and murdered him in the most brutal way. When he returned to claim his prize, the girl was sitting by the ocean, singing and looking at herself in the mirror. The pale demon was so entranced, he could do nothing but watch her.”
“I can’t imagine Thim being entranced by anything,” Emma muttered.
“Listen to this.” Nathanial read on. “Unbeknown to the Fear Eater, the Stealer of Tears also had plans for the girl. He captured the girl’s father and fed his bones to the sea. When the Stealer of Tears returned to claim her tears for his own, the two demons fought, and the girl escaped. She ran to the village elder and told him what happened. The elder was very wise, for he knew this was the only chance to rid the tribe of the demons, once and for all. He performed magic on the obsidian mirror to create a binding charm. The elder gathered a group of men and returned to the ocean where the demons were still fighting. Using the demons’ weaknesses against them, they captured and took them to an uninhabited island. There, the demons were entombed in the deepest part. The elder sealed the entrance with the charm, and the Fear Eater and Stealer of Tears were bound together for all of eternity.”
“Ancil Le Claire must have released them somehow,” Emma said. “Or they found a way to get out.”
“Who’s Ancil Le Claire?”
“According to Fae’s research, he ‘acquired’ Sownipok in 1875.” Her thoughts raced. “After he moved his family to the island, he went to the mainland to meet with a business partner. His house burned to the ground while he was gone.” Emma looked up at him. “He found the charm and released the demons by accident.”
“If we could find it—”
“It’s probably long gone by now,” Emma said.
“I’m still looking.” The librarian’s comment from behind made them both startle. “I found some old maps of the islands in that area. Is that helpful?”
“Do you have any records of a person named Ancil Le Claire?” Emma asked. “I think he was the first white owner of Sownipok.”
“I’m still looking for history on the island. Did you want island history or records on the owners? Because geographical history is a completely different—”
“We need records on Ancil Le Claire,” Emma said. “He was a French businessman from the late-1800s. He probably had money.”
The librarian sighed. “Do you know what kind of business he owned?”
“I don’t.” Emma chewed her lip.
“I’ll look up his name in our database and see what I can come up with.” She left them again.
“Thim can shapeshift,” Emma continued. “Why wouldn’t he just swim or fly away?”
“It says they were ‘bound toget
her for all of eternity.’ Maybe it has something to do with that. Maybe he can only go so far.” Nathanial leafed through the book for several minutes. “If we could find that charm, maybe we could seal them back in the cave.”
“How would we do that?”
“Using the demon’s weaknesses against them, they captured and took them to an uninhabited island,” he read aloud. “What weakness would capture them?”
“Something that didn’t get the whole tribe killed,” Emma replied. “I have no idea. Thim or Itu wouldn’t go into a cave willingly if they knew something was up. They might follow someone in, but that person wouldn’t leave alive. It didn’t sound like the tribe sacrificed the girl they were fighting over.”
“My guess is it would take a while to seal the entrance with the charm too,” Nathanial mused. “That had to involve some sort of ritual.”
“The weakness had to control them somehow,” Emma said. “Maybe we can contact the tribe and ask them?”
“The author says the tribe no longer exists.”
“I found something!” The librarian’s voice made them both jump. “Ancil Le Claire owned a small import-export business in the 1870s. It’s not much, but here you go.”
“Thank you,” Emma said.
“If you need anything else…” She gave Nathanial a flirtatious smile before hurrying off again.
Nathanial scooted closer to Emma.
Emma read silently for several minutes. She tried to ignore the fact that their shoulders were touching. It was difficult. “His business partner was his brother, Phillipe Le Claire.”
“The mirror would have been valuable as an antique,” Nathanial said. “I wonder if he tried to sell it.”
“After Ancil lost his family, he was committed to an insane asylum,” she continued. “It doesn’t say what happened to him after that.”
“Maybe we could find a family member?”
“Do you think they’d even know about a charm? Le Claire. How many Le Claires are there? This is like a needle in a haystack.” Emma closed the book and sat back, dejected.
“We can do this, Emma,” Nathanial said, taking the books from her. “Look, you stay here, I’ll get a copy of these pages. I’ll ask the librarian if she can help us narrow it down.”
I’m sure she’d be more than willing to help you. Nathanial walked away, his movements easy and lithe. Emma couldn’t blame the librarian for giving him the eye. Just watching him walk was kind of a turn-on. She looked quickly away. Bad Emma.
He returned twenty minutes later, a look of triumph on his face. “Lucky for us, there are only five Le Claires who live in the area. First phone call and I struck gold.” He grinned. “Phillipe Le Claire’s great, great, great, great granddaughter said she’d be willing to meet with us and discuss her family history in more detail. Seven o’clock tonight.”
“How did you manage that?”
“The librarian vouched for me. I told her we were doing research for an article.”
“Seriously?
“I got the name of someone else who might help us too. One of the associate anthropology professors at the university.” He took her hand and helped her up. “Let’s get some fresh air. It’s stuffy in here.”
“You really don’t like being inside, do you?” she asked.
“I like it about as much as you like being on a boat.”
Emma’s smile faded.
“It could grow on me, though,” he said quickly. “Maybe…you could get used to being on a boat?” His hand lingered in hers. “Do you get sea sick all the time?”
“I don’t get—” she stopped, catching the amused twinkle in his eye. “Okay, I admit. I get a little sea sick. Only going out to Sownipok, though. I went on another boat once and I was fine.”
“Maybe it’s psychological.”
“Maybe.” They went out to his truck.
“I could take you out some time. Just to test that theory,” he said. “There’s some beautiful coastal scenery during the summer.”
“I’d like that.” Emma looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat. Oh, my god, did I just agree to go out on a boat?
“This summer. It’s a date.” He held her gaze.
“Okay.” He just asked me on a date. The thought sent a thrill though her.
“Do you have any other plans today?”
“Paisley might need some help later. I have to pick up a new phone too, but other than that...”
“The professor’s office hours are between noon and two. We could stop by the university, pick up your phone and then grab some lunch.” He gave her a contrite look. “I mean…if you wanted to.”
“I want to.” Emma felt herself blush. “Um…the phone place is in the mall.” She noted a slight look of panic cross his face, and her heart fell. “Which is completely enclosed and crowded. Are you sure you want to brave it?”
“Yes,” he replied immediately. “If you can brave my boat this summer, I can brave the mall. I like spending time with you, Emma.”
His statement surprised her. I like spending time with you too, she thought. Dammit.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
THE PROFESSOR’S SMALL OFFICE was littered with objects from what looked like all corners of the world. Wooden masks and various swords hung on the wall. Clay figurines and textbooks filled the bookshelves. A life-sized skeleton hung on a stand in the corner. Someone had placed a fez and sunglasses on its skull.
A woman wearing a purple gauzy skirt sat at her desk. Dark, curly hair frizzed around her face. Espadrilles had been tossed aside and her bare feet tapped to the sound of drums playing on a portable CD player in the corner.
Emma tentatively knocked on the open door.
The woman looked up at them with a smile. “Hello! Did we have an appointment?”
“The front desk said you had office hours—” Emma started.
“Indeed I do!” She stood and offered her hand. “Professor Judith Farrington. My students call me Professor Judy.”
“Emma Keller.” Emma accepted her firm handshake. “This is my…co-worker, Nathanial Dumont.”
“Hello, Nathanial.” She gave him an equally enthusiastic handshake. “How may I help you?”
Emma exchanged a quick glance with him. “We were doing some research on folklore concerning one of the small islands off the coast.”
She gestured to a well-used couch. “I’m intrigued. Have a seat. Don’t mind Mr. Bones. My students like to dress him up.”
“Thank you.” Emma sat and scooted over to make room for Nathanial. “What we found was limited. The island is very small, and the folklore is obscure. It amounted to about a paragraph, and we needed a little more detail.”
“I’ll help you if I can.” Professor Judy glanced at her bookshelves. “I have some textbooks, but if it’s obscure, you’d probably do better in the university library.”
“This is what we found at the city library.” Emma showed her the page Nathanial had photocopied.
Professor Judy took it from her and read it, a small smile on her face. “Mythology is fascinating, isn’t it?” she remarked. “Shared fabric from every culture across the globe.”
“It is. We were curious about the last part.” Emma took the page back. “It says the tribe used the demons’ weaknesses to capture them, which seems kind of vague. I doubt the demons were willingly sealed in ‘the deepest part’ of another island. How would someone use the charm? Would there be some sort of ritual?”
“Demons are pretty powerful entities in folklore and mythology,” Professor Judy said. “So yes, there was probably some sort of ritual involved. As far as how the tribe captured and imprisoned them, my guess is that the tribe already knew their weaknesses. They saw the opportunity to exploit those weaknesses and went for it.”
“It doesn’t sound like these demons had any weaknesses.”
“Can I see that again?”
“Sure.” Emma handed her the paper again.
“There are small clues that mak
e me think,” she said, musing over the text. “Almost every creature in folklore or mythology has a weakness. Something that can be turned against it. Call it a balance of power or an Achilles heel. It seems like the one demon had a penchant for the ladies and music. The woman ‘sang to the sound of bells and her voice would rival them.’ Maybe a bell?”
“That only hurts his ears,” Emma said without thinking. She caught Nathanial’s warning look.
“Perhaps singing then,” Professor Judy said, eying her. “As far as the other one.” She scanned the text again. “I’m not sure. It does say that he claimed tears for his own. Which makes me think the weakness had something to do with his eyes.”
Itu’s pouch, Emma thought with a surge of excitement. “If someone let them out, could they seal them back into the cave with the same charm the tribe used?”
“Cave?”
“We’re assuming these demons were sealed in a cave,” Nathanial offered quickly. “‘The deepest part of the island’ right?
“Yes,” Professor Judy answered slowly. “If a human let them out, hypothetically, they could seal them back in with the same charm.”
“What if the person who let them out was dead?” Emma asked. “What if…the demons had contact with another person?”
“The same charm could be used, but any contact with a demon is risky,” she replied definitively. “Demons capture a person’s scent, so to speak. Kind of like a predator tracking its prey. There’s a connection there.”
“Forever?” Emma asked.
“Until the demons are sent back to where they came from. Or the person is dead.” Professor Judy assessed both of them, a slight smile on her face. “What magazine or newspaper was this article for?”
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