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“Like I said, I know you’re not a murderer. I’m not accusing you of anything. In fact, I think you’re in trouble, only I’ve done a piss-poor job of telling you that.” He tugged on my arm. “Ellie, look at me.”
I slowly turned to face him.
“You’re scared of someone or something, and I want to help you. But I can’t do that unless you tell me what’s wrong.”
As I stared into Tom’s earnest face, I realized I felt like telling him everything. That I was one of two Curse Keepers, the descendant of the Ananias Dare line. As the eldest child of the previous Keeper, my father, my job had been to watch and wait for the breaking of the curse that had made the Lost Colony of Roanoke disappear over four hundred years ago. The other Keeper was Collin Dailey, a commercial fisherman from Buxton, North Carolina, currently living in Wanchese, and part-time petty thief, who took his role more seriously than I did mine. He was the descendant of the line begun by the Croatan chief Manteo. Only Collin had purposely broken the curse…and instead of closing the gate to hell before the morning of the seventh day, he had tricked me into opening it wide.
Everyone was scrambling for a reasonable explanation for why the Lost Colony had suddenly reappeared a few weeks ago, preserved down to the food in the colonists’ bowls. I wanted to tell Tom the truth: Collin had shown up in the New Moon restaurant while I was working and pressed his right palm to mine, breaking the curse.
I would have loved to tell Tom about the horrifying things that had escaped and how they now lay in wait, regaining their strength before seeking their revenge against humanity for locking them away. That the mutilated dog he was about to investigate had undoubtedly been butchered by one of them.
But if I told him any of it, he would think I was crazy. If I told him all of it, he’d have me committed.
The curse was my cross to bear.
I offered him a tired smile. “Thanks, Tom. If I find myself in a situation where I think you can help me, I’ll be sure to call you.”
Before he could ask more questions, I hopped out of the police car and headed up the two flights of outside stairs to my apartment. When I reached the landing, I realized that I’d left my keys and purse in my unlocked car, but I wasn’t about to let Tom know that. I bent over and pulled my spare key from underneath the mat and slipped it into the door. As I swung it open, I froze. There were fresh markings on the door.
Collin had been here.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and summoned my anger. Collin Fucking Dailey didn’t deserve my tears. I had given him my heart—not to mention the fact that my soul was now literally bound to his for all eternity—and he’d thrown it away. He’d thrownmeaway for whatever reward Okeus had promised him in exchange for opening the gate.
So why was he still helping me?
After the curse was broken three weeks ago and the first spirits were released, Collin had started to mark my door with symbols that represented the day and the night, forces of nature, and, in the center of each side, his symbol for the land, asking all the forces to lend me their protection.
Collin was the son of the earth, and I was the daughter of the sea. Our power was stronger combined than it was individually. So right before the end—before he betrayed me—we intersected our symbols for added protection.
Now, every few nights, he would sneak up and either scratch on fresh markings or place his symbol over mine.
He was protecting me even now.
I wanted to hate him—Ididhate him—but this very act had softened my heart to him before. And look where that had gotten me…I needed to grow up. Collin wasn’t doing this out of love.
Collin Dailey loved one person—himself.
He was helping me out of guilt. It would only be a matter of time before he decided he’d paid his dues. Either that, or he thought he still needed me for something. Perhaps it was a combination of the two.
Any way I sliced it, I was in deep shit. The henna tattoo had faded so much it was almost gone, and Collin would soon stop lending me his marks.
I needed to learn how to protect myself or I was as good as dead.
Chapter2
When the curse first broke, animals began parading through my dreams, calling out to me for help. And I also began to have nightmares about the past, dredging up memories that had been buried long ago. But after the gate opened all the way, and my henna tattoo began to fade, other creepy crawlies started to invade my dreams…
The creatures varied from night to night, but tonight the creature resembled a badger, although it was many times larger than it should have been. It crouched in front of me, its eyes glowing red. Its teeth were huge, sharp, and dripping with blood.
“Curse Keeper,” it said. “Daughter of the sea and witness to creation. Okeus is waiting for you to be ready, but I have other plans.”
Panic washed through me, and I took a step backward, holding up the mark on my palm. I had the power to send him away—not permanently, but I could get him to leave me alone for now.
The animal laughed. “Your mark won’t always work.”
It wasn’t exactly news. Okeus’s children had screamed and hissed about these great plans as they spilled out of the gates of hell. Their first order of business was to regain their strength. Torturing me for four centuries as punishment for my ancestor’s role in locking them away was a close second. Despite the way I’d taunted Okeus in the botanical gardens, I knew the last thing I wanted to do was confront him. “Tell Okeus I’ll take a rain check.”
“Tell him yourself,” the creature snarled. “He’ll visit you soon. Unless I get to you first.”
