The Curse Keepers Collection (151 page)

He stood upright and closed the lid. “Ellie, she didn’t have the stone around her neck that David mentioned. The demon’s already been here.”

I closed my eyes and tried to hold back tears.
Damn it.

“Let’s go back outside. I don’t feel comfortable leaving Claire and David alone. David may have a sword, but he’s not in great shape to fend off a demon.” He put an arm around my back and I let him lead me to the staircase. But halfway down the stairs, Collin tensed. “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” I shook my head, trying to keep it together.

“Sulfur.”

My eyes widened and raw anger surged through my body. “It’s still here.”

“We don’t know that, Ellie. But don’t do something stupid if we find it.”

Instead of answering, I raced down the stairs and stood in the middle of the hall, spinning around in a circle. “I don’t smell it.”

When Collin reached me, he lifted his face in the air and just stood there for a moment. “Over here,” he finally said. He moved to the second bedroom on the left, his hand on the doorknob. “I hope we don’t scare the shit out of one of your boarders if I’m wrong.”

That was the least of my concerns. I stood to the side of the door and lifted my sword. My tears were gone, driven away by my strong need for revenge. “Open it.”

Collin flung the door open.

Demon Myra stood in the middle of the room, her hands wrapped around the throat of a woman who was on her knees in front of her. The demon had pulled back the rug and scratched a pentagram into the wood floor. Candles encircled the space. When the woman tipped her face up, I could see that it was Sarah, a researcher from Virginia. Duct tape covered Sarah’s mouth, and her eyes were wide with terror. Tears streaked down her cheeks.

“Let her go,” Collin said, raising his sword.

“I need her,” the demon hissed.

Collin moved several more paces into the room.

Myra’s eyes flashed red and she released a low growl as she lifted Sarah to her feet. “If you come any closer, I’ll kill her
now
.”

I had to remind myself this wasn’t Myra, the woman I loved. This was a monster.

“You have two choices,” Collin said. “You can kill her and I’ll kill you. Or you can let her go and I’ll let you jump out the window.”

“
What?
” I shouted. There was no way in hell I was letting that bitch go.

Instead of answering, the demon shoved Sarah toward me. The poor woman stumbled, struggling to get her balance with her hands tied behind her back. She tripped on the folded-back rug and I caught her before she hit the floor face-first. The demon kicked over several candles and then leaped for the window. Glass shattered, and a gust of wind rushed in as the demon dropped to the grass below. Within moments, flames started to lick up the drapes.

Sarah collapsed against me, sobbing in terror. I pulled the tape off her mouth and then untied the shoestring binding her hands.

“We can’t let it get away!” I shouted. “We have to go after it!”

But the flames on the drapes had spread to the wall, and the bed linens were burning too. The fire was spreading fast.

“Ellie, we need to get her and the other guests out of here.” Collin grabbed a pillow off the bed and started to beat the flames. “Go wake up the boarders. I’ll try to buy us some time.”

I almost screamed in frustration.
Goddamn it
. He was right. My need for vengeance was curbed by the need to save the people I could help.

I led a still-shaken Sarah into the hallway and was already banging on the bedroom doors when Claire and David came racing to the top of the stairs.

“We saw the smoke. What happened?” David shouted.

“The demon started the fire,” I said. “And it’s spreading fast.”

A door down the hall opened and one of the researchers stood in the doorway, wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt. “What’s going on? I smell smoke.”

As if on cue, the smoke alarms kicked in, emitting their high-pitched, eardrum-piercing tones. The other researchers appeared in their doorways, noticed the smoke, and raced for the staircase.

“David, we have to hurry!”

He nodded, then wrapped an arm around Sarah, who was crying hysterically, and asked the man in the doorway to help her downstairs.

Smoke filled the hallway, and flames were now shooting from Myra’s open bedroom doorway.

“That’s everyone, Ellie,” Claire shouted, emerging from a bedroom. “It’s moving fast. We have to get out now!”

“I have to get Collin! You and David make sure everyone got out okay.” I ran into the bedroom where we’d found the demon. Collin was using a blanket to beat the flames. Half the room was almost completely engulfed.

“Collin!” I shouted. “Come on!”

He turned to me coughing, his face black from the smoke. “Is everyone out?”

“Yes! Hurry!”

Thick smoke filled the hall as we stumbled to the staircase, both of us choking. There was a pocket of clean air halfway down, and I sucked in a deep breath and held it until we reached the dining room. Flames covered the dining room wall, and a cracking sound filled the entire room. The ceiling in front of us caved in, dropping a pile of burning debris onto the table. A plume of smoke rushed through the house, filling my lungs and blocking our exit.

I grabbed Collin’s hand, lacing our fingers together, and tugged. “This way.” I pulled him to the front door, coughing so hard I could barely see the steps leading to the yard. I dragged him to the edge of the yard and when I released my hold on him, he fell to his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath. Knowing he was safe, that we were all safe, I sat on the grass beside him, exhausted and heartbroken.

A crowd had already gathered before I heard the sirens. They were too late.

“Ellie!” David’s terrified shouts rounded the corner of the house. He saw me on the grass and ran to my side, falling on his knees next to me. “Thank God. I was so scared you were still inside.” He pulled me to his chest and buried his hand in my hair. “I couldn’t find you.”

“The ceiling caved in. We had to go this way. I’m safe.” But I felt numb. Like none of this could be real.

He held me for several seconds before he looked up at the inferno. “God, Ellie. You’re going to lose it all.” He sounded horrified.

“No. Not everything.” I buried my face into his chest. Not yet.

He turned me so my chest was pressed to his, and I let myself fall apart, safe in his arms. “Myra. We found her.” I broke into sobs.

I cried myself into exhaustion before I had the sense to check on Collin. An ambulance was parked on the side of the street now, and an irritated Collin was sitting on a gurney with an oxygen mask on. When he saw me watching him, he tossed it down and, ignoring the shouts of the paramedic who was treating him, jumped out of the ambulance and strode over toward me, his jaw set in determination.

I climbed to my feet as he approached.

“I’m sorry I didn’t go after her, Ellie. We’ll track her down. I swear to you.”

“You did the right thing.” I reached my arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.”

His hands loosely held my waist before he gently pushed me away. “It looks like your favorite police officer is waiting to talk to you. He’s already told me not to leave until we’ve had a ‘chat.’ ”

Tom made his way toward me, and I looked up at Collin in a panic. “What happened to the swords?”

“Claire,” he said as Tom walked up.

“What about Claire?” Tom asked, his hands on his hips, his gaze swinging between the three of us.

“Ellie wanted to make sure her friend was okay,” David volunteered, wrapping an arm around my waist.

“I’m going to go check on something in my truck,” Collin mumbled as he walked away.

The house gave a loud creaking sound before one side caved in.

“What happened, Ellie?” Tom asked in his official voice.

“Do you want the report-friendly version or the truth?”

He hesitated. “Truth.”

“It was a demon. It killed Myra and started the fire.” Grief stabbed my heart, but my tears were dry. Tears wouldn’t bring her back.

Tom put a hand on my arm. “God, Ellie. I’m sorry.”

I nodded, pressing my lips together. “The demon was attacking one of the boarders when we found it.” I searched the crowd and pointed to Sarah when I caught sight of her next to a second ambulance. “She was pretty freaked out. The demon has impersonated Myra, so I’d appreciate it if you could do something about that.” I cleared my throat. “For the report. Myra deserves better than for the town to think she attempted murder.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” He looked over at the fire, then back at me. “And the Raven Mockers?”

“The demon impersonating Myra was controlling them and it just fled. I hope they’re gone too, but it won’t be forever.”

“Then we’ll hope they don’t come back for a long time.” He started toward Sarah.

“Tom.”

He turned back to me.

“You’re going to find a total mess at the botanical gardens.” Although I hoped Tsagasi cleaned some of it up along with the weapons.

“Again?”

I didn’t answer and he turned away, muttering under his breath.

David tugged me tighter to him. “I guess this means we’re moving for sure. But we didn’t find all of your father’s notes.”

“We don’t need them. We’re making our own rules now.” I looked up at him. “Collin and I have officially broken all allegiance with the gods. This is far from over.” I offered a pained smile. “It’s only just begun.”

“We’ll be prepared. You know I’m on your side.”

“What about the Guardians? Do we have to worry about them coming back?”

“I don’t know, but I know we pretty much decimated their core group. All the people there tonight were the higher-level members. They might rebuild, but hopefully it will take years.”

I nodded. It was the best I could hope for.

David’s attention drifted to Collin. He sat on the back of his pickup looking more lost than I’d ever seen him. “He needs you right now, Ellie.”

I jerked my gaze up to meet David’s.

“You picked me, Ellie. But Collin is floundering right now, and he’s your partner. The three of us will be working closely together, and we all have to trust each other. I know your heart. I have faith in you.”

I placed a gentle kiss on the corner of his bruised lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now go talk to him.”

I pushed through the now-thinning crowd, stopping next to Claire, who huddled next to an obviously shaken Drew.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know it was Myra sooner, Ellie,” Claire whispered through fresh tears.

I pulled my friend into a hug. “You couldn’t know, Claire. It’s okay.”

She pulled back and offered a smile.

“Can you do something for me?” I asked, my voice breaking. “Can you give Myra a message?”

Claire nodded.

“Can you tell her I’m sorry that I failed her?” I started crying as I said the words.

Claire shook her head, starting to sob. “She says you didn’t fail her. She’s so proud of you and she loves you so much.”

I could hardly see Claire through my tears. “Tell her I love her too.”

“Ellie, she already knows. She never once doubted your love for her.”

I sucked in several deep breaths to regain control and offered her a sad smile. “Thank you.” I cast a long glance toward Collin.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Go to him.”

After I made my way to the back of Collin’s truck, I hopped up on the tailgate next to him. “You were a hero tonight. Who would have thought?” I teased as I wiped my stray tears, leaning my shoulder into his. “You’re just full of surprises.”

“I meant it about finding the demon that killed your mother. I don’t want you to think I purposely let it go.”

“I know you didn’t.” I slipped my hand in his, lacing our fingers together.

He didn’t answer for several seconds, just watching the now-smoldering house. “Our connection is different. It changed tonight. I didn’t feel you. Did you really not feel me?”

“No.” And my hormones were under control even though we were sitting next to each other. If this lasted, it would make our lives infinitely easier. “Did you mean it about David being part of us now?”

“There’s no denying that he can find things we can’t. We need him.” He glanced over at the man I loved. “If he’s open to it, of course.”

“He is.”

“And Claire?” he asked, turning back to me and studying my face.

“I guess she’s one of us too. Part of our team.”

A smirk lifted his mouth. “I’ve never been much of a team player.”

My eyebrows lifted and a grin spread across my face. “Why does that not surprise me?”

He turned serious again.

A new thought hit me. “Are you okay with being part of a team?”

He sighed, his gaze on our joined hands. “For the first time, I feel like I belong to something important.” His deep brown eyes lifted to mine. “Do you know what I mean? Like we’re supposed to save the world even though no one realizes it.”

“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

His smart-ass grin spread across his face. “We’ll need shirts. I think they should say ‘Team Collin.’ ”

I snorted. “Not a chance.”

Several minutes later David joined us, and I sat between the two most important men in my life, the two men who would help me fight the evil that was still growing and waiting to rise up and strike innocents.

We stayed until the fire was completely extinguished, wisps of smoke rising as firemen began to poke around the debris. The rising sun shot streaks of reds and pinks along the horizon. A new day was about to begin.

The first day of my new life.

I’d lost my family home and my last remaining parent, and yet the sun still rose. The world still spun. Life went on.

I leaned my head onto David’s shoulder and he pulled me close. “Are you ready to leave yet?” he asked.

Was I? No. Something wasn’t done. I wasn’t sure what, but I knew I needed to stay.

Not long after, Tom made his way over to me, holding a small wooden box. “Ellie, the fire inspector found this in the rubble. Everything around it was practically cinder, but this is in nearly pristine condition.”