This Changes Everything

by Swank, Denise Grover

  By Denise Grover Swank

  The Curse Keepers

  (Urban fantasy)

  THE CURSE KEEPERS

  THE CURSE BREAKERS

  Rose Gardner Mysteries

  (Humorous southern mysteries)

  TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES

  TWENTY-NINE AND A HALF REASONS

  THIRTY AND A HALF EXCUSES

  FALLING TO PIECES (Between the Numbers novella)

  THIRTY-ONE AND A HALF REGRETS

  Chosen Series

  (Urban fantasy)

  CHOSEN

  HUNTED

  SACRIFICE

  REDEMPTION

  A CHANGE IN THE WIND (short story collection)

  On the Otherside Series

  (Young adult science fiction/romance)

  HERE

  THERE

  Off the Subject Series

  (New adult contemporary romance)

  AFTER MATH

  REDESIGNED

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2014 Denise Grover Swank

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  [Fluffer Nutter]

  Published by 47North, Seattle

  www.apub.com

  Amazon, the Amazon logo, and 47North are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

  e-ISBN: 9781477867624

  Cover design by Sam Dawson

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “Higher, Claire! Higher!” Ellie squealed, her long auburn hair flying behind her. She’d had a bad day at school, and swinging always made her feel better. Daddy told her that her troubles in third grade were nothing compared to the real world, but that was easy for him to say. He wasn’t in Mrs. Hinkler’s class.

  The swing arced, then swung down. Claire had to jump to push the swing again, her small fingers digging into Ellie’s back. “It’s my turn, Ellie!”

  “Not yet. I want to reach the stars!” She stretched her feet so the tips of her loafers pointed higher. Obviously she’d never reach them, but when she was little she used to believe she really could. At eight, she was smart enough to know it wasn’t true, but it didn’t stop her from wishing it were. “If you keep pushing, I’ll tell you a secret.”

  “You’re going too high and you’re gonna fall out. And I still haven’t had a turn.” Claire stepped back as the swing lowered. “Besides, you never tell me your big secret.”

  Ellie twisted her face around the rope to look down at Claire. “This is a good one.”

  Claire crossed her arms, her brow lowering into a glare. “What? That Drew ate dried glue before recess?” She shrugged with a scowl, flipping her pigtail over her shoulder. “Who cares? He’s gross.”

  Ellie let the swing slow, sucking her top lip between her teeth. When had Claire heard about that? “Fine, you can have a turn.” She jumped out of the swing, landing on her feet and falling to her knees. The compacted patch of earth scraped her bare knee, but she turned her attention to her best friend.

  “I don’t want to swing anymore.” Instead, Claire sat on the ground, her back to the giant oak tree, tilting her head to look up into the brown leaves.

  Claire had been acting weird all day. Confused, Ellie sat in front of her, crossing her legs and tugging down her skirt hem so her underwear didn’t show. “Do you want to go inside and eat some chocolate chip cookies? Momma and I made some last night.”

  Her friend shook her head, tears filling her eyes.

  Claire never cried, so Ellie must have really hurt her feelings. Ellie twisted her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you have a turn.”

  Claire shot her an angry glare. “I don’t care about the stupid swing.”

  “Then why are you mad at me?”

  She released a loud sigh. “I’m not mad at you.”

  “Then who are you mad at?”

  Her dark brown eyes locked on Ellie’s. “My daddy said he wants a divorce.”

  Ellie’s mouth dropped open in shock.

  Claire wiped a tear from her cheek with a dirty fist. The wind picked up, blowing the loose hair from her messy pigtails in her face. She brushed them away absently, but several black strands stuck to her damp cheeks. “I heard Momma and Daddy yelling last night after I went to bed. Daddy said if Momma didn’t stop nagging him he was gonna go back to Greenville and get a divorce.”

  Fear caught Ellie’s breath. Deep in her heart she felt badly that Claire was upset, but all she could think about was herself. Would Claire move back to Greenville with him? She was Ellie’s best friend ever, and she didn’t want to lose her. Several of her friends’ parents had gotten a divorce and then her friends had to split their time between their mommas and daddies, sometimes even moving away and not seeing their other parent for months. Ellie couldn’t imagine not living with both her parents. It was hard enough when her daddy left on his occasional business trips. But Ellie never questioned if her parents would get a divorce. They were happier than any other parents she knew. They were always kissing and hugging, and while Ellie’s friends thought it was gross, it only made Ellie more sure that when she got married, her husband would love her just as much as Daddy loved Momma.

  Still, not everyone was so lucky. Claire’s family had only moved to Manteo this past summer because her daddy had lost his job in Greenville. Claire’s great-uncle offered him a job on his fishing boat, but Claire’s father hated it. Her mother had gotten a job at a hotel as a housekeeper, but the summer season was over and she’d been laid off. Now she worked over in Nags Head at a grocery store and she was always gone. When her parents were home, they spent most of their time fighting over money, but this was the first time Claire had ever mentioned divorce.

  Ellie grabbed Claire’s hands in hers. “They won’t get divorced.”

  Fat tears ran down her cheeks. “You don’t know that.”

  Ellie wished she could assure her friend they wouldn’t, but she knew it might be a lie. Instead, she said the only thing she could think of that might make her friend happy. “I’ll tell you part of my secret.”

  Claire narrowed her eyes and she jerked her hands from Ellie’s. “I told you I don’t want to hear about Drew Reeves eating glue.”

  Ellie steeled her shoulders. “Not that secret. The secret.”

  Claire still looked skeptical, but she stopped crying. “You told me you couldn’t tell me. That only family can know.”

  Tilting her head to the side, Ellie gave her friend an exaggerated grimace. “I know, but you’re at my house all the time and we have lots of sleepovers. Besides, I told you I always wished I had a sister, and you and me are just like sisters.” She nodded her head firmly, proud of herself for coming to this conclusion. “So that means I can tell you.”

  “Really?”

  Ellie didn’t know if it was true or not. She hadn’t intended to tell Claire at all, but she’d do anything to make her happy. And it was true that Claire probably spent more time at Ellie’s house than her own. With her parents working strange hours and her older sister, Melanie, spending more time yelling at her than watching her, it wasn’t a surprise. Heck, Momma had started calling Claire her “other daughter,” so didn’t that mean that she was like a sister?
In any case, she couldn’t back out now, even though Ellie’s chest felt heavy, like an elephant had sat on it. Claire was no longer crying, and Ellie didn’t want to upset her again. Besides, telling Claire would give them something special to share, just like real sisters.

  “Really.”

  Claire placed her elbows on her upper thighs and leaned forward, waiting.

  Suddenly, Ellie didn’t know where to start. She’d known about the curse since she was a tiny girl. The curse had always been part of her life, her secret to keep. It would be nice to have someone to talk about it with, especially since Momma didn’t approve. Whenever Ellie asked her momma questions about the curse, her forehead wrinkled in irritation. She hated what she called all the “curse nonsense.” Ellie leaned forward and whispered, “My secret is about a curse.”

  Claire’s eyes flew open, and she practically shouted, “You’re cursed?”

  “Shhh!” But it was actually a good question, and Ellie’s brow lowered in thought. She’d never thought about if her role meant she was actually cursed. After a moment, though, she shook her head. “No, but Daddy says one day I’ll be a Curse Keeper.”

  “What’s a Curse Keeper?”

  “Daddy is the Curse Keeper now and there’s another one, only we don’t know who it is. When I turn eighteen, I’ll be the real Curse Keeper.” Ellie’s voice filled with pride, even though it seemed so far away—and she wasn’t actually sure what it meant, just that Daddy was always very serious about it. It was a very important job, which meant she would be very important too. Just like Daddy.

  “But what are you supposed to do?” Claire asked, as if reading Ellie’s thoughts.

  “Wait for the curse to break.”

  Claire shook her head in confusion. “What’s the curse?”

  Unsure how to answer, Ellie leaned closer again and whispered, “I know what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke.”

  “Mrs. Hinkler says no one knows what happened to the Lost Colony. She said it’s America’s great mystery.”

  “Well, of course no one else knows,” Ellie said with a smug smirk. “Only the Curse Keepers know.”

  “And me,” Claire whispered, wide-eyed.

  And Claire . . . but not yet. Daddy had warned her that terrible things would happen if she told someone, and she was about to spill a huge secret. Her back tingled and her right palm itched and burned. She scratched at it, wondering if this was a good idea. The pressure on her chest was heavier and she sucked in a deep breath.

  Claire’s cold hands grabbed Ellie’s, her fingernails digging into the padding inside her fingers. Her tears had dried up and excitement sparkled in her eyes.

  How could Ellie not tell her now? “The colony disappeared because of the curse.”

  Claire’s grip tightened.

  “We live in Manteo, but do you know who it’s named after?”

  Her friend shook her head.

  Ellie wasn’t surprised. Claire hadn’t been born here. Everyone who lived here knew the Lost Colony story by the time they were in first grade, but Claire had moved here six months ago, right after the end of second grade. “Manteo was an Indian who helped the English people. So they named the town after him. But he didn’t just help them get food and protect them from the other tribes. He tried to get rid of the Native American gods of the enemy tribes.”

  Claire was mesmerized. “Why would he do that?”

  “Because he thought that was how they got their power to fight,” Ellie said, trying to say it the way her father had taught her. Sometimes it was still hard to understand, but Ellie would always nod her head and repeat whatever he said, eager to please him. “Manteo thought if their gods were locked up, they couldn’t attack and hurt Manteo’s tribe—the Croatan—and the colonists, so he and Ananias Dare performed a ceremony.”

  “Ananias Dare! I know that name!” Claire said, her voice rising in excitement. “That’s the name of the street downtown!”

  “Yeah, but he was a real person too. He was married to Elinor Dare, and her father was the governor, John White.”

  “Wait.” Claire’s eyes bugged out. “Your name is Elinor Dare Lancaster.”

  “Because she’s my great, great, great something grandmother.” Daddy had told her, but she always forgot how many “greats” there were.

  Claire frowned her skepticism. “Nuh-uh.”

  Ellie’s irritation ignited. She wasn’t even supposed to be telling Claire, and now she acted like Ellie was lying. She crossed her arms over her chest and asked in a snotty tone, “Do you want to hear what happened or not?”

  Claire flinched with contrition and nodded. “I do.”

  Ellie fumed for a little bit before going on. “So these two guys had some kind of ceremony. They each had something special to help them. Ananias had a pewter cup. It’s in Daddy’s office right now.”

  Claire’s eyes were about to bug out of her head. “No. Way.”

  “I’ll show you.”

  Claire jumped to her feet. “Okay.”

  They climbed the steps to the screened-in front porch. Ellie was careful not to let the door slam shut. Usually she didn’t care, but she was sure Daddy wouldn’t approve of her showing Claire the cup, let alone telling her about the curse. But at this point, she was upset that Claire wasn’t believing her, so she had to show it. Following Ellie’s lead, Claire tiptoed behind her into the office.

  Ellie loved her daddy’s study. A big dark wooden desk was in the middle of the room, and Daddy always looked so important when he sat there, searching through his books and writing in his notebooks. The walls were lined with hundreds of books. She’d tried to count them several times and always lost track. The room smelled of cinnamon and leather, a scent that always seemed to hang onto her father. Sometimes when he was on a trip and she missed him, she’d come into the room and close her eyes and breathe in the smell of him.

  But today, she was on another mission.

  When they entered the room, she shut the French doors, even though the glass panes wouldn’t hide them from Momma, who was due home from work at any time. Right now, though, the only person she needed to worry about was Miss Marney, the older woman who watched Ellie after school. She’d known Daddy since he was a little boy and now she helped with Ellie’s parents’ bed-and-breakfast, sitting in the office and talking to guests while her parents worked their other jobs at the Fort Raleigh visitor center. But she was in the bed-and-breakfast—the converted house next to Ellie’s—and she most likely wouldn’t catch them. Even if she did, she was used to finding Ellie sitting in her daddy’s office chair.

  Ellie moved to the back of the room and opened the blinds to give them more light. The next-door neighbor’s puppy romped outside in a pen made of baby gates. Maybe Claire would want to go play with Chip after she showed her the relic. The puppy would be much more fun than looking at an antique.

  Eager to go back outside, she pointed up to the tallest shelf in the back corner. A small brown cup sat in front of a row of very old books, looking just as old, dirty, and unimportant as Ellie always thought it was. “There it is.”

  Claire stood next to her, her head tilted back and her mouth dropping open. “That’s it?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why do you still have it?”

  “Because we have to keep it for when the gate opens again and all the gods and spirits come out.”

  Claire turned toward Ellie, her face pale. “What?”

  Ellie was having trouble keeping the smug look off her face whenever she revealed another layer of the secret. “See, when Manteo and Ananias locked away the gods, they trapped them behind the gate to hell. And the colony disappeared with it. But when the gate breaks open, the colony will reappear with all the people who were there in the place where it used to be.”

  “Where?”

  She shrugged. “At Fort Raleigh, probably.”

  Claire gave her head a little shake. “Will the colonists be dressed like they were when they disappeared?�
�� Her eyes widened. “They’re sure gonna be surprised when they see cars and TVs.”

  Ellie shook her head. “No, they won’t. Daddy told me that no living person could go to hell and come back alive.”

  “So they’ll be a bunch of dead bodies? Will they be skeletons?”

  Ellie shrugged again. “I guess.” She’d never given that part too much thought. She didn’t want to think about a bunch of skeletons, but she wasn’t surprised that Claire did. She was fascinated with ghost stories. Abnormally so. “But the curse is over four hundred years old and it’s never broken. It probably won’t break when I’m the Keeper.”

  “That is so cool!” Claire squealed. “Maybe you’ll be lucky and it will break. Then what do you do?”

  “Then the other Keeper and I will have to close the gate. And I’ll have to find a ladder to get the cup off the shelf.”

  “That part’s easy!” Claire grabbed a shelf and began to climb. “I’ll get it for you.”

  Ellie started to protest and tell Claire to leave the cup alone, but after talking about it she was surprised to discover that she actually wanted to see it and touch it. Daddy had taken it down once, but whenever she asked to see it since, he told her it was precious and not something to be “mauled.” She’d never understood that part. She knew bears mauled animals and people, but Ellie only wanted to look at it. And now she reasoned that if she were really the Keeper and needed the cup to close the gate someday, she should look at it so she’d be ready.

  Claire loved to climb things—trees, ladders, the sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park—so climbing a ten-foot-tall bookcase was easy. She grabbed the cup and quickly descended, landing in front of Ellie. “This is it?”

  “That’s what Daddy says.” Ellie understood her disappointment. For something that was supposed to be so important, it looked so boring. She took it from Claire’s outstretched hand and turned it upside down, looking for some sign of its specialness. There was nothing. Maybe Daddy had gotten it wrong.

  “So what do you do with it?”

  Ellie wondered how much she should tell. There was a ceremony with rules to be followed. The first had been led by Manteo. Ananias had gone along, not understanding that he’d been tricked. Daddy told her that Manteo had stolen Ananias’s family from him. He warned her that the Keepers had to perform the next ceremony as equals. He’d gone through the ceremony with her, making her repeat it all so she didn’t forget. They were to set up the site by etching symbols of the gods and spirits as well as the forces of nature, asking Ahone to grant his mercy on the children of the land and the sea. They were to cleanse their souls, and then they could ask the ancient magic, as old as time itself, to help them protect humanity by closing the gate. But her father had warned her that Manteo had used blood in the first ceremony, and she needed to use something stronger this time. Only she couldn’t remember what it was . . .