The Curse Keepers (Curse Keepers series) (8 page)

People all began to talk at once. “Lost Colony… Roanoke… over one hundred bodies…”

Marlena’s eyes landed on me. While she was always known for being in control, I was a close second. Finding me pale and sitting on a chair, covered in food, had to be an even bigger shock than the reappearing village.

“What happened to you?”

“I’m fine. It was just a surprise.”

My cell phone buzzed again.

I stood and took a deep breath. So, I now had five days to close a gate to the spirit world.

But first I had a mess to clean up. “Lila, I’m going to clean this up. Why don’t you try to get everyone back in their seats? Marlena, can you tell Fred that he needs to remake all the meals from table nine?”

“Ellie.” Claire leaned her face into mine and whispered fiercely, “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting back to work.”

“You have a curse to fix.”

I grabbed Claire’s arm and dragged her to the back room. “How am I supposed to do that, Claire? I don’t have the slightest idea what happened, or how to fix it. What do you want me to do?”

Her gaze fixed over my shoulder, her eyes widening. She looked like she’d just spotted the Better than Sex chocolate cake Myra made for the customers at the inn. Her mouth dropped open and she lifted her hand and pointed. “There’s your answer, right there.”

I whipped my head around, and my stomach spasmed before falling to my feet.

Collin Dailey stood in the back entrance of the restaurant. The door was partially open, the sunlight casting a glow around him. He looked like an angel with his impossibly good looks and an aura of golden light. I felt my resolve weaken until he opened his mouth. Condescension dripped off his words. “Do you believe it now?”

My heart snapped closed like a Venus flytrap. Collin Dailey was an egotistical prick. But prick or no, unfortunately for me, I needed him.

He took my silence as agreement. “We need to go.”

I looked into the dining room, then back at him. “Now? I’m not done with my shift yet.”

His jaw dropped in disbelief. “You’re seriously telling me that saving humanity from vengeful sprits can wait until you finish
your waitressing shift
?”

“Well…” When he put it that way, it seemed ridiculous. But I needed the money to pay my rent. I was going to be counting pennies as it was. Not to mention I couldn’t leave Marlena with the chaos out front.

He took two steps toward me and grabbed my arm. “Are you really this self-centered?”

I jerked my arm out of his grasp, my anger making my head buzz. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

His voice lowered. “I am a Curse Keeper, a descendant of Manteo and worthy to carry the title, while you, on the other hand, are a spoiled, self-centered fool who thinks this is all a joke.”

My eyes narrowed, and it was all I could do to keep myself from shoving him out the back door. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”

“You are shirking your responsibilities, and that’s all I need to know.”

I had to admit that it was hard to argue with that, but his attitude was infuriating. “Like it or not, you and I are stuck together until we figure out what we need to do.” I took a deep breath. “Now tell me what we need to do.”

All expression left his face. “You really don’t know?”

“No.”

“
Any of it
?”

“She knows a little,” Claire said, still eyeing Collin with a hungry look. “She’s not completely clueless.”

I’d almost forgotten she was there.

He cocked an eyebrow, turning his attention to her. “And you are…?”

“Claire.”

He turned back to me. “You
told
someone?”

“How do you know she’s not my sister?” From what I remembered, it wasn’t against the rules to tell siblings about the curse, since it was a familial duty. The only problem was that Claire and I didn’t look anything like sisters. But then Myra and I didn’t look anything alike, and technically, she was my family.

He started to speak, then stopped, rubbing his forehead. “Okay, is she your sister?”

I could have lied, but I figured we were already on shaky ground. “No.”

“Then why—”

“She’s the only one who knows. She’s
practically
my sister, so what’s the difference? You say you want to fix this thing, but it looks like you want to spend all your time belittling me.”

“It doesn’t take much effort, trust me.”

I gasped. “Get out.”

His eyes widened. “What?”

I shoved his chest and he stumbled toward the back door. “I said get the hell out!”

“You can’t do that!”

“Oh yeah? Watch me!”

I pushed the bar on the back door and the door flung open. Collin stumbled backward and through the opening. I slammed the door shut and made sure it was locked.

“What did you just do?” Claire asked in disbelief. “You need him.”

My fury still burned in my chest.
Quick to anger, slow to cool,
Daddy always used to say about me. “No man’s going to talk to me like that and get away with it, Keeper or not.”

“So you’re going to just leave the gate open and let the rest of the spirits spill out?”

“No, of course not.” I shook my head. “Collin Dailey has been bred for this. He practically admitted as much last night. He’ll come crawling back, trust me on that. He needs me just as much as I need him. The ceremony requires the presence of both Keepers. He can’t do it without me. But if he wants my help, he’s going to have to eat a little humble pie, because I won’t tolerate him treating me like that again.”

Still, I remembered Daddy’s insistence that all hell would break loose, literally, when the gate opened, and that devastating consequences would occur if the gate wasn’t closed. Not that I could remember a single one of the consequences specifically. But the fear and unease that oozed from Daddy stuck with me, even if the details didn’t. Something terrifying was out there, and I let my temper send away the one person who could help me make it all go away.

Claire sucked in a deep breath and released it. “I sure hope you’re right, Ellie.”

I stared at the back door. I hoped I was right too.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

It was late afternoon before Collin returned and I’d begun to think that I might have pushed him too far. I was just about ready to start scrambling for a backup plan, not that I could come up with one. I was by the kitchen returning a tray when I heard the tinkle of the bell, and I knew he was there.

Marlena walked up next to me, eyeing Collin as he scanned the room. “Well, look who just showed up. Tall, dark, and handsome.”

I had to admit that he did look sexy when he wasn’t wearing a scowl, and he was strangely without one now. While I’d hoped he’d return, I didn’t expect him to be so… happy about it. “He’s probably here for me.”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise.

What possessed me to admit that to her? Marlena was going to be majorly disappointed when she realized that Collin wasn’t here for the reason she thought. Not that she’d ever know the real reason.

She ambled over to him, heading Lila off at the pass, not that Collin didn’t give Lila an appreciative glance. But then who could blame him? While I had more of a girl-next-door look, Lila had long, thick dark hair, gorgeous dark eyes and skin, and a chest that drew attention from most bodies to walk in carrying a Y chromosome in their DNA strands.

“You want your table from yesterday?” Marlena asked, looking like a kid on Christmas. Marlena had been married for ten years and had three kids. She’d told me once that she had to get her romantic thrills living vicariously through me. Marlena wasn’t about to let this guy get away.

“Actually, I was looking for Ellie. Is she still working?”

Marlena turned in my direction, her eyebrows rising. Her mouth stretched into a conspiratorial grin. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“As a matter of fact she is, but she’s got another twenty minutes before her shift ends. How about I seat you at a table in her section? I’ll send her over to take your order.”

She led him to a table for two by the windows overlooking the street filled with tourists. With the discovery of the colony, Manteo was about to be overrun with curiosity seekers. When I thought about all those people hanging around with scary spirits breaking free, a chill ran up my spine.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to check who was calling. Myra. She’d tried to call me while I watched the news reports that morning, and she hadn’t answered when I’d called her back. I stepped into the back room, watching Collin from around the corner.

“I’ve only got a second,” she said. “Did you hear the news?”

“Yeah, the town’s going crazy about it.”

I heard someone call Myra’s name in the background. “How are you doing with all of this?” she asked. “Are you okay?”

I watched Colin leaning his forearms on the table, scanning the room. Part of me wanted to tell her about Collin and what had happened the day before, but she’d worry about me. Myra had enough to worry about. “Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“Well… the curse…” The person calling her name was more insistent. “I have to go, Ellie.” I heard the hesitation in her voice.

“I’m fine. Go do what you need to do. If we’re busy in town, I can only imagine how crazy it is there. We can talk later.”

“If you need anything, you call me, okay?”

“Thanks, Myra.”

I wondered if Daddy had heard the news or if he was coherent enough to understand. I wished I’d taken more advantage of his lucid day. I’d completely blown it.

After returning my cell phone to my pocket, I held out my right palm and gasped. While the pink of the burn mark was fading, the harsh lines of a square surrounding a circle seemed to be darkening. I didn’t remember anything about what the mark was or what it meant from the stories. Why hadn’t
I asked Daddy yesterday? Why had I been so stubborn in my disbelief? When I thought about how real this all was, my stomach flip-flopped from nerves. How was Ellie Lancaster, waitress and maid from Manteo, North Carolina, going to save the world?

Unfortunately, the answer was sitting at a table in the New Moon, staring right at me.

A slow smile spread across his face, and my stomach performed more acrobatics that had nothing to do with the curse, and everything to do with the hormones rushing through my body. I needed to get a grip and stop acting like a teenage girl with a crush. I needed to save the world, not find a boyfriend.

Although a boyfriend would be a nice side benefit.

As I walked toward him, I reminded myself that Collin was not boyfriend material. It didn’t take a genius to see that Collin Dailey was a “love ’em and leave ’em” kind of guy. He was a guy used to getting his way with the charm he exuded now. It was easier to catch a fly with honey, and I was currently Collin’s fly.

I stopped next to his table, trying to keep my face expressionless. If he was going to use his sexier-than-hell charm on me, I might as well make him sweat a bit. I put my hand on my hip and jutted it out while piercing him with my most withering gaze. Lesser men had tucked their tails and run, but Collin simply stared back, the corners of his mouth lifted in the barest hint of a smile. Damn him. “Can I get you something?”

His eyes narrowed seductively, and his voice lowered. “You know what I want.”

Holy shit. If I’d thought he meant what he insinuated, I might have had a mini orgasm on the spot. But last night Collin had made sure I understood what he was interested in, and it had nothing to do with the parts of me under my clothes that begged for attention.

How in the hell was I going to survive five days with this guy? My only hope was to shut the spirit world gate as quickly as possible.

Despite my discomfort, I held my ground, my gaze unwavering. “Since I didn’t take your order yesterday, I don’t remember what you wanted. Perhaps you could refresh my memory.”

He turned away with a grin and looked out the window. “You’re not going to make this easy are you?”

I didn’t answer.

When he turned back, his cocky grin was gone. In its place was a look of contrition. “It’s obvious we’ve started out on the wrong foot.” He waited for me to jump in and say something, but I continued my death gaze. “
And
I admit that I’m mostly to blame.”