The Curse Keepers Collection (136 page)

“You believe me?”

“Call
me
crazy, but I do. There’s no logical, scientific explanation for all the shit that’s been happening here over the past couple of months. So what do I do? Put the marks on people’s doors?”

“I don’t know if it works if just anyone does it. Claire uses salt when I can’t mark her doors, and it keeps them out.”

“But that still doesn’t answer my original question, does it?”

“How we can save people from the Raven Mockers?” I leaned my head back to look at the starry sky and whispered, “I wish I knew.”

“There is a way,” Tsagasi said from next to me, and I jumped, caught off guard by his sudden appearance. “It won’t kill them, but it will keep them at bay.”

I covered the mouthpiece with my hand. “What is it?”

“They must gather seven smooth stones. Have the person lay with their head facing north and their feet facing south, then put a stone at the top of their head, one on either side of their head, and one at each of their hands and feet. It will hold off the Raven Mockers until morning.” His eyes narrowed. “But you are correct. Salt will keep them out in the first place.”

I relayed Tsagasi’s message to Tom. “Last night there were four of them, but they were lying in wait for me, so I’m not sure if they usually attack in groups or not,” I said. “They’re invisible to people without magical abilities, but they slash their victims with claws. They attacked David’s ex-girlfriend and he couldn’t see the wounds. After they tortured her, one of them reached into her chest, tore out her heart, and ate it. I could see the wound, but David couldn’t see anything.”

“Why do you know this? How can you see these things?”

“Because I’m a Curse Keeper. It was my job to make sure a four-hundred-year-old curse didn’t break. The curse is the reason the colony of Roanoke disappeared. Only I didn’t believe in it and it
did
break. Now all of these things have broken loose from hell, and I’m trying to send them back.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I wish I wasn’t,” I sighed.

“How many of these fuckers are there?”

“I don’t know,” I breathed out, suddenly exhausted. How was I going to kill all of them? “David thinks the Raven Mockers will be easier to destroy or subdue if we go after their leader—Kalona—only Kalona seems to be in hiding. Another supernatural creature told me they are currently under the control of a proxy. I’m trying to figure out what that is.”

“
Can
you destroy them, Ellie?”

I looked into Tsagasi’s stern face. “Yes,” I finally said. “I killed three last night.”

“Thank God,” Tom muttered.

“But we’ve found the Ricardo Estate and we think there’s a spear and a sword in the collection that will help us destroy the spirits. So we have to go to Charlotte first to try to get them. I won’t be home until tomorrow at the soonest.”

“The Ricardo Estate? The one you got mixed up in? Why did you
really
go see Marino back in June?”

“I told you the truth. Collin took me to him to sell my candlesticks.”

“Collin Dailey,” he said as if he’d just figured out where to fit a puzzle piece.

“Yes, he’s the other Keeper.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me this weeks ago? I begged and pleaded with you to tell me what was going on when that thing was ripping out hearts across town. What was doing all that killing?”

“Two demons—giant badgers who had once been people until a Croatan god named Okeus cursed them. They wanted to kill me to get even with Okeus, but Collin and I destroyed them instead.”

“In Festival Park?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.” He released a low whistle. “That’s a lot to take in.”

“Do you think you were ready to believe in it when you first asked me?”

“No, probably not. But I am now. The giant snake in Wanchese?”

“Mishiginebig. I call him Big Nasty for short. He’s bad, but he protects me for Okeus.”

“Okeus, the evil god?”

“He wants to use me. Long story.”

“Okay.” But he didn’t sound so sure. “Thanks for trusting me, Ellie.”

“Thanks for believing.” I hung up and glanced at Tsagasi.

“You’re making a mistake,” he said gruffly.

My eyes widened in surprise. “You mean telling Tom? I think he’ll help me in the long run.”

“Yes, you need more human allies. I’m talking about the other Curse Keeper. You need him. I told you that earlier.”

“I know, but—”

“Are you planning to go to Charlotte without him?”

“Yes, but—”

He shook his head, his forehead furrowing so much that his bushy eyebrows became a unibrow. “Then we are done.”

He turned to leave, but I grabbed his tiny arm, surprised to find the hair on it so wiry. “What? Why?”

“You have all this power, yet you refuse to use it. When you are ready to fight the gods, call on me and I will help you. Until then, I refuse to waste my time.”

But to do what Tsagasi wanted would hurt David. “What am I supposed to do?” I asked quietly.

“Witness to creation, you are the hope of
all
creation. You are letting the emotions of one man cloud your judgment. What do your instincts tell you to do?”

I shook my head, frustrated. He was right and I knew it. “Collin’s untrustworthy. Even if he comes, there’s no guarantee he’ll really help. Collin Dailey looks out for Collin Dailey. Helping humanity—helping
you
—is very low on his priority list.”

His gaze remained unwavering. “Not everything is as it appears with the other Keeper.”

“You’re asking me to risk my life and David’s by trusting Collin.”

“Do you really fear for your life when you are with the son of the earth?”

No, but I didn’t trust him to protect David. And as difficult as it was to admit, David was the most qualified person to look over the pieces in that collection.

“You know what you need to do,” the little man said. Then he disappeared into the woods.

I stared at my phone for nearly a minute before I made my decision, but deep in my heart, I knew I’d never really changed my mind in the first place. Otherwise I would have already called and told him not to come.

I ended up texting him. It was stupid. David was going to find out, but I wanted to be able to deny calling Collin, even if it was a technicality. I texted him the address and told him that David was the only one who could see the collection and that I was going to wait for him somewhere close by.

That’s better, Ellie. Stay away from it if possible. Will he know what to look for?

I was surprised he was being so cooperative.

He’s looking for weapons we can use against the supernatural beings. We know there’s at least one spear and one sword. Anything else you know of that he should look for?

It was a full minute before he answered.

No.

Liar.
He doesn’t want you there, so stay hidden. I’ll text you once he’s in.

Okay ;)

I was in so much trouble. He was definitely up to something.

C
HAPTER
E
IGHTEEN

I was nervous the entire drive to Charlotte, so much so that when we were halfway there, David blurted out that he wished he’d left me in Chapel Hill.

“You don’t mean that,” I said, swallowing my nausea.

“Only partially. I’m feeling fairly calm, but your jumpiness is turning me into a nutter. Stop.”

“Sorry.”

He reached over and covered my hand. “Deep breath, Ellie. No one died right when they went to see the collection. They died days later.”

I twisted in my seat to gape at him. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“It was my lame attempt at a joke.”

I spun around and pushed my back into my seat, crossing my arms. “Not funny.”

“You’re right, but it was also my way of telling you that it’s safe for me to go in there. We’ll deal with the rest later.” He squeezed my hand. “Now let’s talk about what happens when we get to Charlotte. I’m going to need the car, so I’ll have to drop you off somewhere. There was a coffee shop a couple of miles away from the office.”

“No way. You can drop me off at the corner of the building. You didn’t bring those binoculars for nothing.”

“I brought them in case I wanted to check out the building before the meeting, not for you to play Nancy Drew. And don’t even think about taking that sword with you.”

We’d brought the sword I’d used to kill the Raven Mockers. It was currently in the trunk, wrapped in a towel. David insisted it was a last resort. “Look, I agreed to let you go in alone,” I said, “but the only way I’m getting out of the car before we get to the business park is if you physically kick me out.”

“Ellie, it’s all strip mall offices and warehouses. It’s going to look suspicious if you’re just standing around.”

“I don’t care, David. I’ll find somewhere to hide out of sight. But I’m not going to be two miles from you.”

“Fine,” he groaned. “But you need to stay away from the front of the building.”

“Okay.” But I’d already figured out a plan. After texting Collin, I had looked up the location on the Internet again, paying close attention to the buildings around the office. There was an abandoned warehouse next to it, as well as a couple of businesses I could possibly visit in the guise of a customer.

Exhausted after my mostly sleepless night, I dozed off after our conversation and woke up an hour later when David patted my arm. “Ellie. We’re here.”

I bolted upright in the seat and took in my surroundings. We were parked in front of a strip mall with several cars parked out front. At least there were witnesses.

“Is one of those offices it?” Most of the complex looked abandoned.

“No. We’re on the east end. We need to head toward the center of the industrial park. I’m having second thoughts about you staying here, though. Where are you going to go? It’ll be much safer if you wait somewhere more public.”

“No, I’m not leaving you here. Besides, there’s a flooring showroom a little bit down from where you’re going. I’ll go in there and pretend to look for carpet.”

He turned to me with narrowed eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”

I gave him a haughty look. “I didn’t want to give you several hours to come up with reasons to stop me from doing it.”

He released a heavy breath. “I just want to make sure you’re safe, Ellie.”

“You forget that I’m the one with powers.”

“Sure, against supernatural beings. I’m dealing with humans.”

“That you know of. And you’re unarmed and unprotected. And what are they going to do when they find out you don’t have the research information Allison was supposed to bring?”

“Ellie. We have a plan.”

“Which is sketchy at best. You’re going in alone while I’m hanging out in the carpet store. End of discussion.”

We drove through the semideserted park in silence. David pulled up in front of the flooring store and glanced down the alley in the direction of the office. I leaned over and gave him a kiss, then stared into his eyes. “Please be careful.”

“I’ll be fine. Wait here.”

Rather than answering, I opened the car door and climbed out before he could realize I hadn’t agreed. I gave him a small wave and walked over to the showroom, going inside without looking back. The car drove off and I pushed down my fear. He was right. He would most likely be safe.

I wandered around the showroom, staying close to the windows. The building he was visiting was close enough that I could see him park and get out of his car. When he disappeared inside, I took a deep breath.

“How long do you want to give him before we start to get worried?”

When I spun around, Collin was standing three feet behind me, his trademark cocky smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?”

His eyes shifted to the windows. “You gave me the address and the time, Ellie,” he said with a snort.

“I know that. I mean
here
. In this showroom.”

He walked behind me, his chest barely brushing my back as he passed. “It’s such an
obvious
place. You must have missed the class on stakeouts when you were getting your degree in entrapping a billionaire bachelor,” he whispered into my ear, reminding me of how he’d thought I was out to marry for money when we first met. “Or how to seduce a man. You would have gotten an A plus in that. Although I think I need to spend more time with you to be sure.”