Curse of the Granville Fortune

by Hashway, Kelly

  I gulped. Garret was right. They didn’t need us. I leaned closer, hoping to find out Morgan’s reason for keeping us around. Luckily, they were too busy to notice me.

  “Until we know how they got Aristede’s painting, they’re staying in my sight,” Morgan said. “I can’t believe they’d stumble upon something as important as the last remaining piece of my treasure map.”

  Morgan looked in my direction, so I stepped closer to Holly.

  “Why does he keep looking at us? It’s creepy,” Holly whispered out of the corner of her mouth. She hadn’t overheard the conversation between Morgan and Garret, and I figured that was a good thing. Keeping her on a need-to-know basis was probably my best bet. I couldn’t have her freaking out and getting us in any more trouble. “Oh no, he’s coming over here,” she said.

  Morgan walked alongside me for a while without saying a word. I hated not knowing what he was up to. Holly stared at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with Morgan.

  “Hungry?” Morgan asked, holding out two pieces of bread.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking Holly’s piece, too, so she didn’t have to move any closer to Morgan.

  “So, where did you say you got the painting?” he asked.

  “I didn’t say.” I was trying to keep the edge out of my voice, but it wasn’t easy to be nice to this guy when I was imagining all the things he could do to Holly and me once he got what he was after.

  “Oh? I could’ve sworn you said something about it. Well, where did you get it?” His tone still sounded friendly, but his smile was completely forced.

  “At an antique store in town,” I lied. I took another bite of bread and tried to act casual. Holly immediately looked at me. I sighed and bowed my head. I knew she hadn’t meant to, but she’d just given me away.

  “An antique store?” Morgan’s face turned twelve different shades of red, and he balled his hands into fists. “You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you? Each map was carefully hidden where only a Grimault could find it. There’s no way the most important map would be in an antique store where anyone could buy it. Now, tell me the truth!”

  Noelle widened her eyes at me, and I got the feeling she wanted me to make up another lie. A better lie.

  “Well, we—”

  “J.B., look!” Holly said. She dropped her bread on the ground and pointed up ahead. I expected to see a wild animal, but instead I saw my dad walking toward us. “D—” Holly began, but I shoved the rest of my bread into her mouth to stop her.

  “Bruce!” Morgan growled. He put one hand up, motioning for everyone else to stay where they were, and he marched up to my dad. “How dare you show your face after you tried to pass off that phony drawing as a piece of my treasure map.”

  My hands shook. I was sure the Grimaults were going to attack my dad.

  “Let me explain,” Dad said, putting his hands up in surrender. “Edward and I determined the map I brought may have been fake, so I headed home, planning to search my father’s belongings for another map. Only, I never made it home because I took a wrong turn and ended up heading in the opposite direction. I found this at the other end of the forest.” He handed the painting to Morgan.

  He really was helping Morgan. Something wasn’t right. If he found the painting in the park, he was heading home. He hadn’t taken a wrong turn. I studied his face, but his expression was blank—unreadable.

  Trent, Garret, and Edward pointed their knives at my dad, waiting for their orders. Noelle stepped toward Holly and me. Morgan studied the painting, and I thought his eyes might pop out of his head. He smiled and said, “It’s signed AG! At last! The final piece! Bruce, you took a big chance returning here after your map turned out to be a fake.”

  Dad reached out and shook Morgan’s hand. “As I told you earlier, I’m here to help you find the fortune. It belongs with its rightful owner.” Morgan’s eye twitched slightly, but he nodded in response.

  Dad kept talking to Morgan as if Holly and I weren’t there. How could he pretend not to recognize us? I stared at him, trying to find some sign he’d come to save us.

  “New recruits?” he asked, pointing at Holly and me. “Your family’s bigger than I thought.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about them. They had the painting and were going to help us find it, but we don’t need them anymore thanks to you.” Morgan slapped my father on the back.

  “What do you mean you don’t need us anymore?” Holly asked with a shaky voice.

  Noelle crept back over to Edward and whispered something in his ear. He shrugged in response.

  “I have the painting. Why should I keep you kids around?” Morgan said, still mesmerized by the painting.

  “Dad!” Edward said in a panic.

  “Oh, fine. The other girl can stay. She hasn’t been a problem like these two.” He glared at Holly and me.

  Was that what Noelle had whispered to Edward? Was she trying to protect herself? I had to get Holly and me out of here. Unlike Noelle, we didn’t have anyone protecting us.

  A rush of adrenaline sent my brain into overdrive. “You can’t get rid of us because you still don’t know how we got the painting, and we’re not going to tell you until you agree to let us go,” I said.

  “You’re making demands of me?” Morgan laughed, but his face turned red. “Tell me how you got Aristede’s painting, or I’ll kill you both right now!” He drew his knife and shook it at me.

  “Wait!” Dad said, taking a step toward me. “Perhaps you might let me try getting it out of them.”

  Morgan furrowed his brow. “What makes you think you’ll have better luck?”

  “I have children of my own. Ones who aren’t as disciplined as your boys. I know how to talk to them.”

  “You might have kids, but that doesn’t mean you know them or that you know how to be a father,” Holly said. Her eyes filled with tears. I was too angry to cry. Dad had basically said Edward and Garret were better kids than Holly and me.

  Morgan moved toward Holly, but Dad put out his hand to stop him. “Please, let me try. You have more important things to focus on. You’re about to locate the fortune.”

  Morgan nodded. “Fine, but while you’re at it, lead us in the direction you came from. I need to find the back entrance to the forest. The one by the park.”

  “Follow me,” Dad said. He turned to Holly and me. “You two can help lead the way.”

  I thought I saw Dad wink at me, but I wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking. I looked at Holly to see if she’d noticed it, but she was staring at the ground. We walked in silence until we came to a clearing. A clearing I knew well.

  “The park!” I yelled.

  Holly smiled. “Maybe someone will see us! Mom probably has the police searching here.” She waved her arms in the air, but Garret yanked them down to her sides.

  “Another move like that and you’ll be wolf food,” he growled in her ear.

  I pulled Holly away from Garret. “Don’t touch her!” He wasn’t the least bit afraid of me. He stepped closer and curled his upper lip.

  “Let me through,” Morgan said, pushing his way to the front of the group. “Let’s see here. What’s present in the painting but not in the forest? Oh, yes! There should be another path around here.”

  “You have the painting, and we’re out of the forest. Now, let us go,” I said.

  “So you can run home and tell your mommy all about us? No, you’re not going anywhere. I know a nice cave a little way back where we can leave you two. You’ll let me know which rock wolf won the fight, won’t you?” Morgan laughed, and Garret smiled in amusement.

  I thought about telling Holly to run for it, but we were outnumbered. She’d never get away.

  “Do you know where the other path is?” Dad asked me.

  “What?” Morgan said, his mood changing in a split second.

  “I thought they might know where the other path is. It’s their painting, right?”
>
  “It’s my painting!” Morgan corrected him.

  “Of course it belongs to you. What I meant was they had the painting, so they might be more familiar with it since it was in their possession.”

  Morgan glared at Holly and me. “Do you know where the second path is?”

  I wasn’t sure if we should tell them anything since Morgan wasn’t going to let us go anyway.

  “Well?” Morgan yelled.

  Holly jumped and nodded at me. She wanted me to cooperate, and I didn’t see any other option.

  “Yes. We took that path,” I said.

  “I suppose we should keep them around,” Dad said. “They could be useful.”

  “Fine,” Morgan grumbled. “But keep them out of my way.”

  Dad nodded. “I’ll take charge of them for you.”

  “Show us the path from the painting,” Morgan ordered.

  “It’s to the right of this one. Those tree branches are covering it up.” I pointed to the spot where the path was overgrown.

  Trent, Garret, and Edward uncovered the path, and Morgan made me lead the way. Dad had saved us from being thrown to the wolves, but he still pretended not to know us. I hoped he was keeping the secret for the same reason I was—so no one got hurt by the Grimaults.

  I barely paid attention to where I was going. My mind was too clouded to think straight, but I was forced back to reality when I heard Noelle’s piercing scream. I whipped my head around to see one of the creepy trees Holly and I had brought to life had Noelle locked tightly in its gnarly bark arms.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A branch twisted around her head, muffling her screams. Edward and I rushed to her. He drew his knife and started slashing at the base of the branches where they connected to the trunk. Noelle’s eyes widened as Edward’s knife came dangerously close to her arm. The knife wasn’t big enough to make any real slices in the branches, so I pushed Edward aside.

  “That’s not working!” I tugged on the branch around Noelle’s waist. Edward glared at me, but he threw the knife to the ground and helped me. Another limb swatted at Edward’s head. We needed help, but the others were fighting off attacks by the rest of the trees. Edward and I were going to have to find a way to free Noelle.

  “I have an idea,” I said, looking into Noelle’s terrified eyes. Her mouth was still covered, so I didn’t wait for a response. I put my hand on her shoulder. “Edward, give me a boost! I’m going to jump on the branch around Noelle’s waist to get the tree to give a little. When it loosens its grip, you pull Noelle free.”

  Edward bent down and interlocked his fingers so I could step in them like a stirrup. I placed my left hand on his shoulder for balance. Without warning, my entire body got warm, warmer, hot. My arms and legs tingled so much I could barely think straight. I figured I was having another vision, but Noelle’s eyes darted back and forth between Edward and me. She felt it, too. Edward studied his arms like he’d never seen them before. He was as shocked and confused as I was. Our eyes met, and he shook his head, yelling, “Jump!”

  I snapped out of it and jumped on the branch, stomping as hard as I could. The limb shook under me and splintered. With a final stomp, the branch and I both fell to the ground. Edward didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Noelle and pulled her to him. They landed in a heap on the ground.

  “Come on!” I yelled, getting to my feet. I took Noelle’s hand and pulled her up. Edward grabbed his knife off the trail and ran to help Garret, who was being attacked by a large oak. Trent reached into his back pocket and pulled out his lighter.

  “No! You’ll burn down the whole forest!” I jumped on his back and pried the lighter from his hand. The only reason I was successful was that I’d taken him by surprise. Once the shock wore off, he effortlessly flung me to the ground.

  “Give that back. It was my grandfather’s lighter.” Trent ripped it from my fingers.

  Morgan let out a primal yell, startling everyone. Even the trees shivered. “Run for it!” He didn’t wait to see if we were following orders. He took off, leaving us to fight our way through the branches that narrowly missed grabbing hold of him. Garret took his boot off and used it to hit the trees as we ran. He looked funny, hobbling along with one shoeless foot, but it worked. Most of the skinnier branches broke on impact. We made it past the living trees and were forced to stop when we came to the mouth of a large, pitch-black cave blocking the path. This wasn’t the way Holly and I had gone after we’d fought off the trees the first time.

  “Now what?” Holly asked, out of breath.

  Morgan flipped through the maps. “None of the maps show this cave! We must’ve made a wrong turn. We have to go back!”

  “No way!” I blurted out. All eyes turned to me. I had to think of something and fast. I scanned the outside of the cave. It was huge, almost like the cave cut through the mountain bordering the outer edge of the forest. The path led straight into the cave, which meant we had to go inside. “I think the cave might actually be a tunnel,” I said.

  “A tunnel?” Noelle asked.

  “The path leads into it. I doubt it’s a dead end. All the other trails have been connected or led somewhere. This one must, too.” I shrugged at Morgan. “Unless you want to give up the search, we have to go in there.”

  “No one’s giving up!” He stepped toward me, stopping inches from my face. “If you’re wrong about this, I’ll make sure you don’t get past those trees on our way back.”

  I forgot how to breathe. I was guessing. I had no idea how to read the maps or how to navigate the forest.

  Trent whipped out his lighter and led the way into the cave. We could barely see, and we had to make a human chain to avoid stepping on each other. I was holding on to Holly and Noelle’s trembling arms. We walked through the darkness, guided only by the faint flicker of Trent’s lighter.

  “Looks like we’re going down,” Trent called from the front of the line. “There are some steps, and they’re steep.”

  Holly and Noelle squeezed my arms. My foot slipped a little on the first step. The stones were really uneven. Holly was lucky she had Dad and me on either side of her. She never would’ve made it down these steps on her own without falling. At the bottom, the tunnel opened up into a pretty big enclosed space. We were underground.

  The walls were rusty brown and looked like dust clouds hardened into solid forms. Trent stopped to point at a small red arrow drawn on the wall. “It’s written in blood,” he said.

  “Aristede must have marked the way through the tunnel. Keep moving,” Morgan said, pushing Trent along.

  Our feet stirred up the dirt on the ground, making it even harder to see. A fluttering sound overhead drew everyone’s attention to the ceiling. Brown fruit bats hung upside-down in huge clusters. Holly’s nails dug into my arm as a bat darted through the dark alcove. Once we got past the bats, the trail narrowed and wound through a darker labyrinth of eerie rock formations. The tunnel started to look like a giant mouth with enormous jagged teeth.

  I heard Holly gulp. “Keep the bad thoughts to yourself,” I whispered. The last thing we needed was her saying something that’d make us all cave food.

  I struggled to breathe. The air inside the cramped tunnel was hot and humid. The ceiling sloped downward, and we had to hunch at the waist. After several more steps, Noelle and Holly let go of my arms. We were facing a solid rock wall.

  “What?” I murmured. The sides of the cave had opened up so we had a little room to turn around. I twisted to the right and saw Morgan advancing on me, his knife drawn.

  “I told you you’d pay if this wasn’t the right way to go!” he said.

  “Trent, shine that lighter on the wall over here!” Dad yelled. “There’s another trail marker.”

  Trent awkwardly made his way through the group and lifted his lighter to the wall. A faint red arrow pointed straight up to a circular hole in the ceiling of the cave. The space was just big enough for a person to squeeze through. There w
ere no steps like there had been at the entrance. We were going to have to climb out.

  “Garret, you go first,” Morgan said. “Trent, you’ll go last since you have the lighter. We’d be in the dark without you.”

  Garret reached up, placed his hand in a recessed spot on the wall, and began to climb. We took turns scaling the walls until we were finally out of the tunnel. The air on the surface felt unusually cold after being underground. I swallowed painfully. My mouth was as dry as cotton, and I could taste the gritty dirt from the cave floor that covered most of my body. We all looked like we’d climbed out of our own graves.

  Morgan’s eyes narrowed on me. “I guess it’s your lucky day.”

  I didn’t think any of us had an ounce of luck thanks to our ancestors and the curse. Noelle gave me a half smile. I felt bad that she’d gotten wrapped up in all this when she wasn’t even cursed.

  We moved quickly through the trails. Every time Morgan recognized a part of the forest from one of his maps, he pushed his way to the front of the group and studied the map to determine the next path to choose. After a while, the group came to a sudden halt.

  “Get into the cover of the trees!” Garret whispered as he sidestepped behind a tall oak.

  I imagined all sorts of wild beasts ferocious enough to scare a crew of armed thieves. Someone grabbed my arm, and I was shocked to see it was Dad. He pulled me behind a bush. I looked directly into his eyes, hoping to see even a glimpse of the father I’d always known, but he stared far off into the woods. I turned to see what he was looking at. The hairiest looking beast I’d ever seen stood next to a large boulder. It had wiggling furry arms all over its body.

  Holly gasped and buried her head in my shoulder. “What is it?”

  “I’m hoping it goes away before we have a chance to find out,” I said, but I barely got the words out of my mouth before the creature started coming right at us.