Read The Curse Defiers Online

Authors: Denise Grover Swank

Tags: #Romance, #Paranormal Romance, #Science Fiction Romance, #Fantasy Romance, #Ghosts

The Curse Defiers (4 page)

BOOK: The Curse Defiers
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In person. Anytime today.

His answer came seconds later
.

Noon. The foot of the Nags Head Pier.

I stared at my phone for several seconds, wrestling with my conscience. David wasn’t the jealous type, and he’d actually called Collin to ask for his help when we were fighting the demon badgers Ukinim and Ilena. The cold hard truth was that I’d probably be dead if Collin hadn’t helped us. I knew David wouldn’t have a problem with me meeting Collin, so why didn’t I want to tell him?

Okay

Despite David’s suggestion that I take the day off, I spent the rest of the morning helping Becky clean the rooms in the inn and tidy the bathrooms in the main house. I just couldn’t lie around while she was working. It didn’t seem right, even if she was getting paid. Plus, working helped keep my mind partially busy. At eleven thirty, I checked my reflection in the mirror. I was wearing a pale-green sundress that made my hazel eyes greener than usual, and my long dark red hair was arranged in a loose French braid. My makeup was minimal—some mascara, a little bit of eye shadow, and blush. The brightness of my gaze gave me second thoughts. My bond to Collin was strong, and I found it difficult to resist him when he pursued me. I just needed to keep David first and foremost in my mind while the two of us were together.

The traffic wasn’t bad crossing the bridge off Roanoke Island toward Nags Head, so the trip was short. The closer I got to the ocean, the antsier I became. My bond to Collin wasn’t the only pull I had experienced since the curse broke. The ocean called to me, begging me to touch it. As the Dare Curse Keeper, I was the daughter of the sea. I had always been drawn to the ocean, ever since I was a girl, but after the breaking of the curse, the pull was irresistible at times.

I arrived five minutes early and parked in the public lot, where I was surprised to see that Collin’s beat-up old pickup truck was already in a space. After locking my purse in the trunk, I walked toward the pier.

Collin was waiting at the edge of the parking lot at the entrance to the pier restaurant. I stopped in my tracks, the sight of him sending an overwhelming yearning shooting through my body.

I still wanted him.

I’d been drawn to him from the beginning. It had been hard to admit that to myself when we first met; he’d acted so egotistical and arrogant, making no secret of the fact that he couldn’t stand me. But my attraction had taken root the moment we saw each other. He had felt the same undeniable draw, and when we finally slept together, Collin Dailey had been imprinted on my very soul. But our connection was more powerful than that. He was the literal other half of me. I was the daughter of the sea and he was the son of the earth—the yin and yang of the curse—and I couldn’t help but wonder if our strong mutual attraction was a chemistry that went back to the curse itself.

He watched me, his face expressionless. He carried two bags and had a blanket tucked under his arm. His dark hair was shorter than the last time I’d seen him, and he was tanner too. Short stubble covered his face. He wore a pair of khaki shorts and a V-neck white T-shirt, and he looked sexier than I’d ever seen him.

Turn around and go home, Ellie.

That’s what I knew I should do, but my feet disagreed, and I took several steps toward him, stopping several paces away.

“You look beautiful, Ellie.”

I swallowed a burning lump in my throat. This was why I couldn’t be around Collin very often—not because of how drawn to him I was, but because I knew I could never be with him. David wasn’t the reason for that; Collin himself was. “Thank you.” I forced a smile, my eyes tearing up. “You look good too.”

His mouth pinched and I could see an inner battle wage in his eyes before he reached out his right hand—the circle and square burned into his palm clearly visible—and took my left hand, linking our fingers together. “Come sit with me.”

I nodded my consent and we walked fifty feet south of the pier until Collin stopped and released my hand, then set his bags down and spread out the blanket.

“Have a seat, Ellie.”

I kicked off my flip-flops at the edge of the blanket and walked to the center, tucking my legs to the side as I sat down. Collin lowered himself next to me, grabbed one of the bags, and pulled out two foil-wrapped sandwiches.

He handed me one, flashing his cocky Collin grin. “I knew I could get you to eat lunch with me if I held out long enough.”

I took the sandwich and released a soft laugh. “I didn’t know you’d been trying.”

He was reaching into the bag again when he stopped midgesture and looked into my face with a sadness that ripped my soul to shreds.

“And I didn’t say lunch,” I said. “Just that I needed to see you.”

He shrugged. “So I improvised.” He pulled out two bottles of water and set one next to me.

I opened the sandwich and the smell of a bacon cheeseburger filled my nose, making my stomach growl. I took a bite and couldn’t contain my groan of appreciation.

Collin laughed. “They say the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.”

I shook my head and chuckled. “That’s a
man
.”

We looked out onto the crashing ocean waves for several seconds in silence, both eating our sandwiches, so much like our last night in Morehead City. The night before everything fell apart. I had expected to be more anxious around him. I’d expected more animosity from him despite the fact that the last time we’d met had been on civil terms. What I hadn’t expected was this sense of peace. My yearning was still there, but this time I had it under control. It just felt good to be with him.

“When was the last time you were in the ocean?” he asked, keeping his gaze on the horizon.

“Last week.”

“You need to visit it more, Ellie. It’s a part of you now.” His voice was soft and noncondemning.

“It’s hard to get over here, even though it’s just a fifteen- to twenty-minute drive. When you take into account that I lose anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour when I zone out every time I come . . .” My voice trailed off in frustration.

“You wouldn’t spend as much time in the water if you came more often. It gives you power. And if you’re losing that much time, you’re using more energy than you’re getting.”

“This Curse Keeper gig didn’t come with an instruction manual, Collin. At least not for me.” Ordinarily it would have come out as an accusation, but today it was laced with exhaustion.

Collin’s hand covered mine. “I know.”

His touch was comforting, and although I knew I should pull away, I couldn’t make myself do it.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said when I took you out on the boat, about me keeping things from you so you’d keep coming back to see me.” He paused, then stared into my eyes. “I think there might be some truth to it, but it’s more complicated than that.” He offered me a wry smile. “I’ve partially done it to protect you.”

“Hiding things from me won’t protect me. It puts me in more danger. I have no idea what to expect, and that could get me killed.”

Collin stiffened and started to say something before stopping himself. “Why did you want to see me?”

He changed the subject. He still wasn’t willing to fill me in on everything. Bitter disappointment seeped into my blood. “Do you know anything about people being able to see ghosts?”

He hesitated. “Why do you ask?”

My anger, dormant for longer than I’d expected, rushed to the surface. “For once would you just answer a
goddamned question
?”

His jaw clenched and I wondered if he was going to get up and walk away, but he blew out a breath instead. “Yes. I’ve heard of it. But contrary to what people believe, it’s not that common.”

“Are the ghosts good or bad? And how would someone know if they were ghosts and not spirits or demons?”

“I told you the first day you asked about good gods and bad gods that there’s good and bad in everything. People included. There are a lot of shades of gray, Ellie. Take Ahone.”

Pissed, I started to get up, but Collin wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me back down. “For Christ’s sake, you asked me a question, and then you start to storm off when you don’t like the answer. Did you ever consider you might actually know more if you stuck around and listened?”

I sat back down and took several breaths to settle my anger, part of which was directed at myself. He was right.

“Okay.” His hold on my wrist loosened, but he didn’t let go. “Ahone isn’t all good, Ellie. He made you sacrifice your father, for fuck’s sake.”

My simmering temper exploded again and I turned to him, livid. “That was your fault, Collin! You broke the curse! Daddy never would have died if you had left things alone.”

A tourist family gave me curious looks as they walked by, but kept moving.

Collin watched me and waited until they passed. His face softened. “You asked me why I broke the curse. Do you remember what I said?”

My anger clung to me like a familiar friend. “You said you wanted it done! That your family had paid the price, but you didn’t give a shit about my family.”

“Ellie.” His voice lowered and there was no anger in it, only regret. “Did you ever wonder why I walked into your restaurant that day? Or how I knew where to find you? Did you wonder how I had the henna supplies ready the day I took you to Buxton?”

My mouth opened and then closed without emitting any sound.

“I didn’t just come up with this on my own, Ellie. Granted, I hated the fucking curse, but I never considered breaking it until about two months before I did.”

I blinked, amazed that he was finally opening up to me. “What happened?” I asked, my voice breathless.

“Something came to me one night while I was out on the boat.” He paused and glanced out at the water. “I had already forked over a ton of money on repairs for the engine, and Marino wanted me to work some big job. I’d been resisting because I was trying to distance myself from him.” He swallowed and let go of my wrist. “This ball of light appeared and told me that I could change things. That my family had been punished because of the deeds of my ancestors and that we didn’t need to suffer any longer. It told me that I could make things right. All I had to do was break the curse.”

“But—”

Collin turned and put his finger on my lips. “Shh. Let me finish. Then you can ask questions.”

My lip tingled where he touched it and fire raced through my body. My breath came in rapid bursts as Collin’s finger lightly slid along my bottom lip, his gaze pinned on my mouth. It took every ounce of restraint in me not to close the distance between our mouths. It couldn’t have been more than a foot.

David. Remember David.

My expression must have changed because the longing in Collin’s eyes tur
ned to resignation. He dropped his hand and turned back to face the water. “I didn’t listen at first. My job was to
protect
the curse and keep the gates closed, but the seed of doubt had been planted. And I began to wonder: What if the curse was broken and I didn’t have to spend the rest of my life stuck around Roanoke
Is
land? I could go anywhere I wanted. I could start over where Marino would never find me. After that, it was easy.”

I watched the emotion battle in his eyes.

“A month or so later, the ball of light returned with its whispers about how I could make things right. This time I was willing to listen. It told me that all I had to do was find you—I already knew we had to touch our right palms together. Then the curse would break, cracking the gate open, and after six days I could seal it so that it would never open again. And the curse would be done. Forever. The light told me that I would need to protect you until the ceremony because you didn’t have the mark of protection that the Manteo line wore. After the ceremony, you would be safe.”

Collin ran a hand through his hair, then leaned his forearm against his upright knee. “I still wasn’t sure. It went against everything I had been trained to do and believe.” He sighed and closed his eyes, then slowly opened them. “That’s not entirely true. My father was the Keeper before me. He was angry about his fate, and he always swore he’d break the curse someday. Then he disappeared when I was ten. He just vanished, and my mother didn’t take it well. She was in and out of mental health facilities and my brother . . .”—he turned to me, his eyebrows lifted—“
Conner
and I were passed around from family member to family member when she was away.”

I stared up at Collin in disbelief. I couldn’t believe he was sharing so much with me.

His hand rested between us on the blanket. I placed my hand over his and he flipped it over, lacing our fingers together. I could feel strength from my body flow into his, and we weren’t even touching marks.

Our power had grown.

Collin’s eyes widened slightly in surprise before he continued. “I decided to get advice from my grandmother, who was the Keeper before my father. After he left, she took over responsibility for my training, teaching me everything I needed to know. She was only the third female Keeper in the Manteo line, but when I was younger, my father told me that she was the wisest of them all. I suspect he was right. She has much wisdom about the curse and life in general. She instructed me with a firm hand and made sure I believed in the importance of our task. So I went to her and told her about the ball of light. She told me not to trust it.” He laughed. “Of course, I talked myself into believing it in spite of her warnings. The ball of light was telling me things I wanted to hear. So I went to Conner and asked what he thought. He told me that if I was conversing with talking balls of light, I was crazier than our mother. But I think a tiny part of him believed.” He grimaced. “Or was afraid not to believe. Rosalina was Conner’s girlfriend and I knew she had access to henna supplies. After the wind god Wapi almost stole your Manitou, I knew I needed to step up to keep you safe. So I went to Rosalina. Conner had already warned her that I was going to come by for supplies, so she had them ready.

BOOK: The Curse Defiers
10.58Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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