The Curse Defiers (29 page)

“Tell him you have a question about the colony. He’s an early-American history buff, right?”

I couldn’t hold back a smart-ass grin. “If you want to call a master’s and a PhD in the topic a
buff
, then yes.”

He laughed. “Ask him if he found any weapons when he was there, particularly swords, and we’ll see how he reacts.”

“But we’re not interested in weapons at the colony.”

“Right, but it will provide a natural segue into the work of the Guardians. If he’s involved with them, he’s going to know about them collecting the artifacts. Once you get him talking about weapons, let me take over.”

“Okay.”

Five minutes later, the door to Steven’s classroom opened and students poured out of the room as Collin pulled me around the corner to another hall. We waited several minutes and I was starting to worry that we’d missed him when I saw him round the corner, looking down at a stack of folders in his hand.

“That’s him.” I moved toward him, Collin following close behind me. My heart raced, and I forced myself to breathe normally. If Steven was involved, or if he at least knew something, I needed to get as much information from him as possible. Freaking out wouldn’t help a thing.

“Steven!” I called out, sounding bright and happy. I had no idea how I pulled it off when I felt like I was about to throw up. Maybe Collin was right about me being a natural con artist.

Steven looked up, confusion flickering on his face, then smiled when he caught sight of me. “Ellie, what a wonderful surprise. What are you doing here?” He didn’t act like a man who was wracked with guilt over the kidnapping of his colleague and the boyfriend of his girlfriend’s daughter.

“David’s in Chapel Hill doing some research. I’m surprised Myra didn’t tell you.”

“She did, but she said you were headed back yesterday.”

“We got delayed.”

Steven’s gaze had turned to Collin, not that it was surprising. Collin had a commanding presence, despite what he said about his ability to go unnoticed. I was far from convinced that he was capable of blending in anywhere.

“Steven, this is my friend, Collin.”

His eyes flickered with uncertainty for a moment before his mouth stretched into a smile. He extended his hand. “Hello, Collin.”

“Nice to meet you Dr. Godfrey,” Collin said, shaking his hand.

“What are you two doing at Duke? I believe Myra has a free period this morning if you’re hoping to see her.”

I smiled up at him. “Actually, I wanted to see you.”

“Me?”

“David has come across some interesting information in his research. I was hoping to ask you a specific question about what you found at the colony while you were there.”

“Why didn’t David just call?”

Oh, crap.
Think, Ellie. Think
. “There was a departmental staff meeting today. Since he’s been out of town, he felt he should go.” I leaned closer. “He wanted to cross-reference some information he found in the library, which is why he asked me to talk to you.” My smile widened. “I hope that’s okay.”

His forehead wrinkled and he looked unconvinced. “Sure, but can we talk on the way to my office? I believe I have a student waiting for me.”

“Of course.”

I fell into step beside him, with Collin on his opposite side. Steven cast him a quizzical glance and then turned to me. “What do you need to know?”

“Did you find any weapons at the site? Maybe some spears or swords?”

“Or any other weapons of significance,” Collin added.

Steven slowed and his face paled. He glanced at Collin and back to me before he continued to walk. “Of course, Ellie. It was a colony on the brink of a war. We expected them to have weapons, and they did.”

A heaviness filled my heart. It was obvious from Steven’s reaction that he was involved, and although Collin said he’d take over the questioning, I saw another way to draw Steven out that wouldn’t occur to Collin. “David’s ex-girlfriend was an expert on weapons from the Middle Ages. She told me about a special sword from the Crusades. She showed me a photo of it too.”

He rubbed his forehead, breaking eye contact. “Myra mentioned that you were in Chapel Hill this weekend because David’s ex-girlfriend had seen a collection of weapons and he wanted to speak with her about it.”

Sweat broke out at the base of my head. I only told Myra David was meeting a colleague—no other details.

Collin moved in front him. “Dr. Godfrey, do you happen to know anything about the Ricardo Estate?”

His mouth opened then closed like a fish’s.

“Ellie’s mother spoke to you about it fifteen years ago. I’m sure you remember it. It happened shortly before her murder.”

Steven took several more steps before stopping and turning back to look at him. “And who are you again?”

“I’m Ellie’s friend.” His face hardened. “And you didn’t answer the question.”

Steven turned to me, anger tensing his shoulders. “Ellie, what is the meaning of this? Does David know this man is here?”

“Steven, I’m sorry.” I tried to look contrite, but I had to force it. I wanted to punch him in the face myself, but we were already showing too much of our hand. We’d be lucky to get him to give anything away. “Collin is a family friend.”

“You didn’t answer the question, Dr. Godfrey,” Collin repeated. “What do you know about the collection that got David’s ex-girlfriend killed on Saturday night?”

Obviously, Collin had assumed the bad cop role.

Steven’s face turned white. “I don’t have to answer anything.” He swallowed. “In fact, I’m going to call security.”

“Steven, please,” I said.

He looked around, his eyes wild, before pinning me with his gaze. “Ellie you need to stay out of this.”

I grabbed his arm. “I can’t . . . because of David. Please.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you.” He shrugged off my hand and took two steps down the hall, which had gotten more crowded in the last minute.

“We know about the Guardians,” Collin said.

Steven stopped and turned around, his face expressionless. “What did you say?”

“We know about the Guardians.” Collin took a step closer and lowered his voice. “And we know what they’re doing.”

He spun around, hurrying toward the open elevator car at the end of the hall. We ran after him but had to push our way through a group of students, and the doors closed before we could reach it.

“Now what do we do?” I asked.

“He obviously has information we need, so we’ll stake out his office. He said he was meeting with a student, although that might have been a ruse to get rid of us.”

“Do you think he knows about David?”

“No. If this group has levels of membership, he must be at a very low level. He sucks at subterfuge. He gave away so much without even saying a single word, but he asked if David knew you were here with me and he didn’t look like he was being coy. He doesn’t know what happened.”

“So what is his involvement?”

“I suspect they use him to get information, but give him little in return.”

Just as I pushed the elevator call button, the doors opened and Myra walked out. Her eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks. “Ellie! What are you doing here? I thought you left yesterday.”

“We had to come back. I needed to ask Steven a few questions.”

She moved to the side, grabbing my hand and pulling me with her.

My palm tingled.

I looked up at her wide-eyed. Why was my palm burning now? My gaze fell to the base of her throat. She was wearing a round pendant with symbols raised in bas-relief. “Myra, what’s that?”

Her hand lifted to it. “This? After Steven saw the markings on my door, he gave me this on Sunday night. Wasn’t that sweet of him?”

My stomach dropped. “I don’t think it’s safe, Myra. You need to take it off.”

“Ellie, what’s gotten into you? Is this your way of getting back at me for bringing up my concerns about David?”

“What? No!”

“Then what are you doing here? You said you wanted to ask Steven questions. What kind of questions?”

“About something he may have found at the colony site.”

“You could have just called him.” She cast a glance to Collin.

I considered introducing her to Collin. While she’d never met him in person, she knew enough about him from what little I’d told her to disapprove. Ignoring him seemed the best policy unless she asked. “We stuck around Chapel Hill yesterday, so I thought I’d just come over and see him. And of course you.”

“I wish I had more time to spend with you, but I’m on my way to a class. Will you be around for lunch?”

“No,” Collin said. “We need to get going.”

“Oh.” She frowned at Collin. “Well, I guess this will just be a quick hello and good-bye then.” She hugged me tight and whispered in my ear. “Be careful, Ellie. Think this through, and don’t let poor David get hurt.” She pulled back and cast a dark scowl at Collin before hurrying down the hall.

“I don’t think your stepmother likes me much.” He laughed. “I can usually charm the mothers. It’s the fathers who tend to hate me.”

“Wow, that’s a shocker,” I said sarcastically as I watched her round the corner. “She’s worried I’m going to hurt David by being with you.”

Collin’s smile fell. “Let’s go find Dr. Godfrey and then get on the road to Manteo. David told them the location was by the aquarium, so I’d like to scope it out and find a possible place to use as our supposed gate to Popogusso.”

“Let’s make it next to the sound. Who knows, Big Nasty might show up to help me.”

“Good idea.”

We took the stairs up one flight, looking for Steven’s office. When we found it, the door was locked and several students were waiting in the hall.

“Have you seen Professor Godfrey?” Collin asked.

A guy who looked like he should be in high school frowned. “No, but I had an appointment with him and he hasn’t shown up.”

A woman walked past the group, casting a glance at the closed door. “Dr. Godfrey won’t be in for the rest of the day. I just ran into him in the hallway. He was rushing out the door and he told me he was going home sick.”

Collin’s eyebrows shot up. “Come on. Let’s go.”

When we left the building and were walking across campus, Collin looked down at me. “Do you have a home address for him? He’s sure to have it unlisted to keep students from showing up at his house.”

I pulled my phone out of my purse. “I think I have his cell phone number
and
his address from when Myra first started visiting him here.” I pulled up my list of contacts. “Here it is. Myra was paranoid about leaving me alone, so she made sure I had lots of contact information for her.” I rattled off the street address.

“Good. We’ll head over there, but I suspect we might be too late. He’s scared and he’s running. When a herd animal is scared, it almost always runs to its herd for protection. If we can find him, we might be able to follow him to the Guardians.”

The embers of hope kindled, but I kept the feeling contained. There were a lot of what-ifs in following him to the Guardians, and even more what-ifs in him leading us to David. And along with the hope came disappointment. One more person had hurt me. I’d trusted Steven. He’d slept in my house, and he’d convinced Myra to move to Durham. Did he intend to hurt her? My head swam with questions and overwhelming heartache. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.

I turned to look at Collin, now unsure about everything. If I couldn’t trust Steven, who could I trust? I stopped on the sidewalk and someone bumped into my back. I stumbled forward as Collin took several more steps before realizing I wasn’t with him.

He turned around, a quizzical look on his face. “Ellie?”

Would Collin betray me again too? I was far from certain that I could handle it if he did.

He closed the distance between us, searching my face. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I trust you?”

Confusion flickered in his eyes along with something else. Anger? Disappointment? He grabbed my right hand and cradled it between both of his, the mark on my palm tingling from the proximity to Collin’s.

I tried to pull away, but he held me in place.

“Collin, if you plan to betray me in any way tonight, whether it’s out of your control or not, just leave me here and I’ll find my own way back to Manteo.” My voice broke.

His face softened. “Ellie.”

Tears filled my eyes. “I’m letting you get close to me again, and if you go behind my back to help Okeus or someone else, I don’t think I can take it. It will destroy me. So
please
, Collin, I beg you, if that’s what you’re doing, just leave me here.”

He shook his head. “No. I promise you, I’m supporting you all the way in this thing. I won’t trick you or betray you.” He grabbed my shoulders and tipped his face down to mine. “I know the fact that Steven is part of this is screwing with your head. And if he had anything to do with your mother’s involvement—I know it’s making you doubt everything. I don’t blame you, but I swear to you, Ellie, that I will never again do anything to intentionally hurt you.” His hand cupped my face, tilting it up to him. “I finally realize where my real priorities lie.”

A fire of lust spread through my body and it took all my willpower not to stand on my tiptoes and kiss him. But if I was asking Collin not to betray me, I owed the same to David. I took a step back and Collin’s hands fell to his sides.

“Let’s see if we can find Steven and have him lead us to David.” Then he turned and started walking again, leaving me to follow.

Why did I have the feeling that I was now betraying Collin?

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
OUR

Steven wasn’t home when we got there. I wasn’t surprised, but the disappointment was heavier than I’d expected it to be. With no other leads, there was nothing left to do except go back to Manteo.

We were both quiet as we left Steven’s neighborhood, and the morning had exhausted me. Collin stopped somewhere in Durham to pick up an early lunch, and I fell asleep as soon as we got back in the car. I didn’t wake up until I heard Collin’s voice.

“Ellie, we’re here.”

I blinked and looked around, confused that we were parked on the side of the road and surrounded by sand dunes. “Where?”

“Pea Island. I thought it might be more private here.”

“The beach?”

“Yeah.”

It was a good choice. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t thought of it before. Pea Island Wildlife Refuge was only a fifteen-minute drive from Nags Head, but it wasn’t as touristy.

He got out of the truck and I followed his lead, meeting him at the front of the vehicle. “If we hike over the dunes here, we’ll be close to the ocean.”

I kicked off my Vans and carried them in my hand as we climbed a tall sand dune. I could hear and smell the ocean before I saw it. I stopped at the top and took in the view, surprised and elated that just the sight of the ocean could energize me.

Collin had taken several steps down the other side, but he stopped to look back, his face filled with worry.

I started down, the call of the ocean irresistible. Once I was at the bottom of the dune, I passed him, dropped my shoes on the sand about ten feet from the tidal edge, then waded out into the water. Collin stayed on the shore behind me as a surge of power rushed through my body and I once again experienced the familiar yet always intoxicating sensation of the Manitou of every living thing in the ocean. My eyes sank closed as I gave myself to the moment, letting the vibrant life force remind me of what was really at stake. Not just David or me or Collin; not even just the fate of humanity. As Tsagasi said, the fate of every being in creation was in danger. I wasn’t sure what Okeus and Ahone had planned, but I had no doubt that it risked all of us.

I walked deeper into the water, my eyes still closed, unaware of how long I had been there until I sensed Collin in front of me, taking my hand in his before I could think to stop him.

His feelings surged through me, his love, his need to prove that I could trust him. Without thinking, I moved closer to him until I was plastered against his chest. The other half of the Manitou joined with the half I had already experienced. The animals and the plants of the land flooded my head, and while I should have been overwhelmed, I felt nearly complete instead.

I looked up into his face, and the tenderness there caught my breath. His free hand reached for my cheek and his mouth lowered to mine, but then he stopped. “I want you to trust me, Ellie. With everything else you have to worry about, I don’t want this doubt to distract you. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

His hand let go of mine and I stumbled. He wrapped an arm around my back and held me against him for several seconds. To finally be able to trust him was an amazing gift.

Collin offered me a grim smile. “Now let’s get ready to save David.”

We were quiet as we walked back to the truck, but I was amazed by how much the power of the ocean had helped me regain all my strength. I knew I’d need every bit of it and then some to survive the night.

There was so much against us, not just the Guardians and the challenge of getting David back, but the Raven Mockers and the gods. Okeus’s offer, Ahone’s plans. Part of me was weary of the whole mess. I had no idea how to fight them all. The best course of action was to deal with them one at a time. Which meant facing the Guardians first.

My cell phone rang as we headed back to Manteo. Tom was on the other end. I plugged my other ear with my finger to hear the call over the wind rushing through the windows.

“Ellie, there were four more deaths last night.”

“I’m on my way back, Tom.”

“Are you any closer to finding who’s in charge of these things?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I hadn’t even had the chance to look. “No. I’m still working on it.”

“We can’t tell everyone in town to put salt on their thresholds, Ellie.”

“I don’t know what else to tell you, Tom,” I snapped.

Collin shot a curious look in my direction.

“Look, I’m doing the best I can. David went to see the Ricardo collection and they kidnapped him.”

“What did the police in Charlotte say?”

“We didn’t call them.” Funny how I’d never even considered it as an option.

There was a pause. “Dr. Preston was kidnapped and you didn’t think to call the police? What the hell, Ellie?”

I cringed. “Tom, you know that I can’t tell the police about any of this crap. Calling the police is at the bottom of my list of resources.”

“Were they humans?” When I didn’t answer, he continued. “You should have called the police.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if he was right. “We’re getting him back.” I shifted my gaze to Collin.

He shook his head, his mouth pursed.

“How?” Tom asked, sounding skeptical.

Even without Collin’s warning, I had no intention of giving Tom any information. “Don’t worry about it. We have it under control.”

“You keep saying ‘we.’ Who’s we? Collin? Is he working with you now?”

“The less you know the better, Tom.” I quickly ended the conversation, cursing myself for telling him anything about David. But then I wondered if I should have told him more. The Guardians were human. The police could deal with them, but then again a secret society didn’t last hundreds of years by acting stupid. If I involved Tom, it could get him killed.

“What do you want to do?” Collin asked. “It’s seven thirty. I think we should get something to eat and then head to the aquarium and scope it out. We need all the advantage we can get.”

I was letting Collin take charge again, but I didn’t have a better plan. And disagreeing for the sake of being in control was stupid. “Okay.”

Collin stopped at a gas station and filled up the tank while I went inside and bought a couple of deli sandwiches, chips, and water. We drove in silence as we ate our food.

My phone rang as Collin pulled into the aquarium lot. When I dug it out of my pocket, I wasn’t surprised to see Claire’s number on the screen.

“Claire—”

“My ghost is freaking out, Ellie.”

Fear shot through my chest. “What are you talking about?”

“She says you’re in danger. So much danger.”

My mouth went dry and I swallowed. “Hold on, Claire. I’m going to put you on speaker so we can both talk to you.” I pressed the speaker button, then held the phone next to me.

“Who? You and David?”

Oh, God. She didn’t know. I’d spent most of yesterday unconscious, so I hadn’t had a chance to check in with her. “No. Me and Collin.”

“Collin? Where’s David?” She sounded panicked.

“The people who have the collection kidnapped him.”

“Oh, my God, Ellie!”

“Collin and I are in the process of getting him back.” I had to believe we’d be successful.

“No wonder Mary’s so upset.”

“Mary?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah, I finally got a name out of her even though she’s still not coming through clearly and she gets pissed when I call her that. Do you have any relatives named Mary? That perhaps went by a
nickname
?” Judging from her mocking inflection, I gathered that the ghost must have been close to her.

“Uh . . .” I rubbed my temple. “I had a great-aunt Mary who went by Bitty.” Why were we discussing my relatives when I needed to prepare to save David? We had absolutely no plan at all. This was going to backfire and get all three of us killed.

“Maybe that’s her.” Claire seemed relieved. “Aunt Bitty says you’re in danger. Especially David.”

“Then the crazy-ass ghost of Great-Aunt Bitty is Captain Obvious,” Collin muttered. “He’s been kidnapped and they’ve threatened to kill him. That’s about as dangerous as it gets.”

I shot Collin a scowl. I didn’t need the sarcasm, and I certainly didn’t need the reminder of the gravity of David’s situation.

“Aunt Bitty says you need the ring, but not how you think.”

My gaze locked with Collin’s. “How do I need it?” I asked.

“Each time she tries to tell me, the words are garbled.” I could hear the frustration behind her voice.

“If you find out, will you let me know?”

“Of course.” Claire paused. “Ellie, there’s one more thing. The blackness surrounding your house has gotten worse in just the last hour. And it keeps getting blacker and blacker.”

My stomach twisted. “What does it mean?”

“Evil.”

I hung up and stared at the phone.

Collin’s eyes narrowed. “Do you really trust a crazy-ass ghost?”

I gave him a wry smile. “Okeus says I can.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, if Okeus says so . . . We know how trustworthy
he
is.” He opened the truck door and moved to the tailgate and climbed onto the bed.

I got out and followed him. Talk about a total about-face. Only a few days ago he was trying to convince me that Okeus was the way, the truth, and the life.

He started to open the toolbox attached to the rear of the truck bed when he squatted and stared into my eyes. “Are you going to accept Okeus’s offer?”

My gaze lowered to his feet. “I . . . I haven’t made a final decision yet.”

“Can we discuss it right now? Because I’d like to say my piece before you decide.”

My eyes widened. “Okay.”

He moved to the end of the bed and sat down on the open tailgate, patting the spot next to him. Once I was seated, he didn’t waste any time. “
Why
would you accept Okeus’s offer?”

“To save you. And David and Claire and Drew and Myra. To save the people I love.”

He swallowed but he didn’t look at me, staring instead at the small county airport next to the aquarium. “So let’s say you become Okeus’s queen and you save all of us, but you get pregnant with Okeus’s babies. Do you really think you can love them and raise them?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I can’t let myself think about that.”

“That’s
exactly
what you need to think about. And when your
many
babies grow up and become the monsters their father is, how will you deal with that?”

I closed my eyes.

“Let’s go ahead and ignore the fact that not one of us could live with ourselves if you made this decision. Let’s even ignore that you’d be lonely as shit. Despite what Okeus says, you will be utterly and eternally alone. And eternity is a fucking long time.” His hands curled around the edge of the tailgate. “But let’s not ignore what those creatures will do when they are grown. They will kill and destroy. You may have saved Claire and her husband, but you haven’t saved their children. And that’s the mind-fuck Okeus will play on you. He’ll kill their kids. Or, hell, maybe he’ll make
your
kids do it.”

The truth struck me with mind-numbing horror. He was right.

“So tonight, when he asks you for your answer, tell him to go fuck himself, Ellie. Because not one damn good thing will come from saying yes.”

I bit my lip to keep from crying and nodded.

“Promise me. Promise me on David’s life.”

I gasped.

His jaw set. “I have to be sure. You need to be able to trust me, but I need to be able to trust you too.”

“I promise I won’t accept his offer.”

He stood, stomped to the toolbox, and lifted the lid. “Come here.”

I got up and stood next to him, surprised by how serious he looked. “Elinor Dare Lancaster, Curse Keeper, daughter of the sea, witness to creation.” He pulled out the sword and handed it to me.

My right hand encircled the grip, and his right hand covered mine, sending a surge of power from his mark into mine. I looked up at him in surprise.

His eyes were trained on my face. “I promise to stand by your side and defy the gods. To forge our own destiny. From tonight and forward, we will work together to defeat the demons and send them back to Popogusso. We will fight to protect all of creation from the evil that we—
I
—set free. And I promise to stand with you until the end, whenever that comes.”