The Curse Defiers (19 page)

Moments later he walked out from behind a tree.

“Why are you in the woods, daughter of the sea?” But he wore a smirk.

“To find you, of course.”

“Did you bring a list of questions? I haven’t had my nap yet.”

“Very funny.”

He gestured to my hand. “You are carrying the sword.”

“David thought I should bring it in case I needed to defend myself.”

He nodded solemnly. “He who guides the Curse Keeper is wise.”

It was good to know that Tsagasi thought I needed David too. “You’re right. I need to remember what happened the night my mother died.”

The little man leaned his shoulder into the tree. “And?”

“I need you to help me find the memories.”

He shook his head. “You must figure that out on your own.” His scowl deepened. “The loss of your memories isn’t normal.”

“Because of the trauma?”

“Because of magic.”

I was an idiot. “I can use my power as a witness to creation to remember,” I whispered.

A hint of a smile flickered at the edges of his mouth, then just as quickly disappeared. “They will come rushing back once you tap into them. You will be vulnerable.”

“Like when I’m with Collin in the ocean.” I considered waiting until we returned to Manteo. I could ask Collin to watch over me in case something supernatural showed up, but I needed whatever information was trapped in my head now, so David would be more prepared for his visit tomorrow.

My gaze narrowed on Tsagasi. He had protected us last night. “Will you protect me?”

“I’m not sure I can do it on my own.”

“Will your friends help?”

“They are reluctant to get involved.” But he shifted his weight as his voice trailed off, hinting that they could be convinced.

If I’d learned anything since this mess began, it was that everything had a price. “What do they want?”

His eyes met mine. “They want peace, but more importantly, they are frightened of the power you wield. They want your blood oath that you will never banish them to Popogusso.”

“Blood oath?” I shook my head. I’d had one blood oath too many to suit me. “No way.”

He crossed his arms and turned to look toward the setting sun, barely visible through the foliage. “Then you must take your chances.”

This had to be negotiable. “If I swear this oath, what guarantee do I have that they won’t do something evil, something that earns them a place in Popogusso?”

He shrugged. “You don’t.”

“How many are there? Do I have to promise this for all the creatures that don’t follow Ahone or Okeus?”

“No, only those who will agree to guard you.”

“Can I meet them first?”

He nodded his approval. “It is a wise request.”

The leaves behind him rustled and another little man appeared next to him. While Tsagasi resembled one of Snow White’s dwarves, this man looked much more proportionate to his height. His face was smooth and wrinkle-free, and his long, dark brown hair hung down his back, the ends brushing the plant life at his feet.

Tsagasi stood straighter. “This is my brother. Tsawasi.”

“Hello,” I said. I wasn’t sure it was the correct greeting for a supernatural creature that wanted to protect me for a price, but it was better than “hey.”

The little man gave a tiny nod.

“And this is Gawonii and Ama.”

A man and a woman appeared out of thin air behind the little men, both dressed in deerskin clothing and carrying bows on their backs.

I gasped in surprise.

They looked like the Native American warriors I’d seen in drawings and the occasional photo, and they were the size of normal humans. The woman watched me with interest, but the man looked wary.

“They are Nunnehi,” Tsagasi said, as though that explained their sudden appearance.

I shook my head, still staring at them, even though I knew it was rude.

“The Nunnehi are ‘the people who live anywhere.’ They are immortal beings who can appear and disappear at will. They have long been friends with the Cherokee.”

“And they want to help me?”

“If you agree to the blood oath. But before you decide, you must understand that you are not the only one who will be making an eternal pledge.” He looked over his shoulder. “We will agree to come to your aid whenever you need us. But only seven times.”

“Wait, I’m being asked to
never
send all of you to Popogusso, but you’re only agreeing to help me seven times. That hardly seems fair.”

He shrugged his indifference.

“And how will they help me?”

“They will defend you to their deaths.”

Maybe it was a fair trade. “Okay.” I was nervous. Making another bond seemed like a bad idea, but David had urged me to go with my instincts. I had never felt comfortable taking Ahone’s mark, but somehow I was sure that making this blood oath was the right thing to do.

Tsagasi dug a hole next to the base of the tree, uttered words in a guttural language, and pulled a short, sharp-pointed knife from his belt. He pierced the palm of his right hand with the tip, then let the several drops of black blood fall into the hole and said, “Upon my life I swear.”

He repeated the process with the other three. Once that was done, he turned to me.

Shifting my sword to my left hand, I held out my right hand and he quickly pierced the exact center of the circle of the mark, where I had the scar from the blood ceremony Collin had completed. The pain was minimal as I watched the red drops emerge from the cut. When the blood started to pool in my hand, I held it over the earthen hole and tilted my palm to let it fall.

“Upon my life I swear.”

The moment my blood hit the earth, a billow of white smoke rose and a blast of energy shot from the hole, rushing through my body and stealing my breath away.

“Her blood is more powerful than I believed,” the woman said in awe.

Fear strangled my throat. Had they tricked me?

“I told you she had the power to defeat the gods,” Tsagasi murmured. He turned toward me, looking at me with something I hadn’t seen on his face before: respect. “Together we will defy the gods and bring peace to all creatures. Mortal and immortal.”

All four of them watched me.

Feeling uneasy, I took a step backward. “Let’s get started.” I sat on a log and laid my sword beside me. Taking a deep breath, I curled my fingers around the rough tree bark and then released it as I closed my eyes. “Okay.”

Taking several slow and even breaths, pulling up my memories of the birth of the world, I found myself immersed deeper in them than I’d ever been. I was the first drop of water to hit the earth. The memories of the changing and evolving world sped up to warp speed, a dizzying display of images that left me disoriented and anxious until it all stopped, dumping me into the memory of a cool winter day.

I was eight years old again, sitting under the oak tree with Claire. The wind was cool and crisp as I stared into her tear-splotched face, desperate to make her feel better. She had just told me that her father was thinking about a divorce. So I shared with her the one thing I knew would distract her—the story of the curse. As soon as I shared the information, I realized I was already forgetting things about it that I should have remembered.

Momma came home and made a phone call to Steven, asking him to help her access the archives at Chapel Hill, and she mentioned calling the police. But whatever else she said was confusing to the little girl me. I only knew she was hiding something from Daddy and she thought he’d be unhappy when he found out.

Since I was upset, Claire decided to share another secret of her own—that she heard voices. She said one of the reasons her family had moved to Manteo was that she was teased at school. But the voices had begun to quiet over the last few months, even though they all still said the same thing:
you must help her.
Only Claire didn’t know whom she was supposed to help.

The next two days seemed to be on fast-forward as I traveled through my memories, and the action only slowed again when I was working on my homework after school. Momma and Daddy were still fighting about Momma’s visit to Charlotte the week before and how she wouldn’t tell him about what she’d seen. They went into Daddy’s office to argue, but I hid around the corner, listening to their raised voices and getting peeks through the French doors. Finally, Momma relented and showed him a ring that she wore around her neck on a chain. It was an artifact from the Middleton collection that had been stolen and lost during the Civil War. The ring had been lent to her in good faith with the request that she discover its significance. Daddy became very excited when he recognized the engraved Croatan symbols on the ring. He told her it was the ring Ananias’s great-grandson had created with a Croatan priest. He’d had it made so that he could banish demons on his own if necessary.

She reluctantly gave him the ring, but only after he made an agreement: if he couldn’t find the gate to hell within a week, he would completely give up the curse for the rest of his life and stop telling me about it. Then he went back to his office at Fort Raleigh to get papers that would help him translate the markings on the ring.

After Daddy left, Momma told me she’d read me a story before I went to bed, but she needed to check on the guests at the bed and breakfast first. I went upstairs and put on my favorite nightgown, a lacy, white cotton, billowy gown that made me feel like a princess. After brushing my teeth and picking out the story, I started downstairs to tell Momma I was ready.

That was when I heard glass break.

A man was downstairs, threatening Momma, asking for the ring. But Momma pretended not to know what he was talking about until he threatened to hurt me if she didn’t give it to him and started to hit her.

I wanted to help Momma, but a man’s voice in my ear told me it was too dangerous. I sat on the stairs crying. When the intruder told another man to go upstairs and find me, my mother begged them to leave me alone. The voice in my ear told me to hide.

So I ran to my closet and burrowed into the back, hiding even though I was desperate to help Momma.

Momma and the bad men came upstairs. One was looking in the rooms while the other asked Momma questions.

Then there was scuffling in the hall and I could see shadows moving along the wall. A smaller shadow jumped on a larger one, and then I heard my mother’s screams.

I sobbed in the closet, anger rising up inside me. I needed to protect Momma, but some unseen force pinned me to the wall.

The bigger shadow grunted and growled as his arm swung over and over toward the smaller shadow. My mother screamed and screamed.

I tried to burst free, but the invisible hold kept me in place and the voice in my ear whispered, “Not yet, Ellie.”

A figure stood in the doorway to my bedroom, his head concealed by the hood of his sweatshirt. He held a large knife in his hand, the metal shining in the lightning flash outside my window. I stopped crying and held my breath, terrified.

He moved into the room and around the bed, crouching down to check underneath. Then he rose and moved past the closet door. Just as I thought he was going to leave, he spun around, squatting in front of me. Blood dripped from his knife onto the floor. He reached for me and I screamed, but a bright light filled the room. The man covered his face with his arm.

“
I claim her as my own, Curse Keeper. You will not harm her.
” The angry words belonged to the voice that had told me to hide.

Curse Keeper?

I tried to break free of the memory but it pulled me back down, smothering me with renewed grief.

“Do not think me
stupid
, son of the earth. You wish to break the curse. You are not the first, nor will you be the last,” Ahone said.

The Curse Keeper still held his knife, ready to attack, and Ahone’s light shone brighter in warning. “You are mistaken if you think that I will let you hurt her. I need her for another purpose. The curse will be broken, but not today. It will happen when
I
deem it so.”

“I’m sick and tired of being at the mercy of the curse,” the man said, his voice gravelly. “I want this to end.
Tonight
.”

“It began at
my
will and will end when
I
wish it. I do not condone you forcing my hand, Curse Keeper, and you will
pay
for this transgression, just like the others before you.” The light glowed bright white. “
This girl changes everything
. If only you had shown patience and restraint, you would have seen this. You will get what you want, but not during your tenure. At a time of my choosing, I will find your son and help him break the curse.” Ahone’s voice lowered and sounded more menacing. “But because of your treachery, he will rue the day I sought him out, and he will curse you for the sacrifices he must make as penance for
your
betrayal.”

The Curse Keeper climbed to his feet. “With the help of Okeus, my son will defeat you, Ahone.”

“He will try, and he will fail. The girl will be his downfall.”

“No!” The man grunted, lunging for me.

I screamed and the light burst brighter than before, blasting the man out the door and onto the floor in the hall.

The Curse Keeper’s hood had fallen off his head, and his wavy dark hair and dark eyes resembled Collin’s. But when this man’s eyes locked with mine, the ugliness there was nothing like the expression in his son’s eyes. He shouted at the other man and hurried down the hall and then the stairs.

The little girl me tried to break free from the invisible band holding me back. “Not yet,” Ahone said, his anger now gone.

“What are you?” I whispered.

“Not what, but
who
. And you will find out soon enough.”

Finally, the hold broke free and I stumbled as I ran out of the closet and landed in the pool of blood in front of the closet door. I screamed.

“Ellie!” Momma called out in fear.

“Momma!” I got to my feet and rushed to the hallway.

She lay on the floor, her clothes covered in blood. I called out her name, light-headed with fear. Her head turned toward me and I gagged as I took in the puddle of blood around her.