Curse of the Granville Fortune (5 page)

“Go that way,” Noelle said, pointing to the path on the left. “I’ll try to lure the creatures this way.”

Was she crazy? She was no match for the forest creatures. “We can’t split up. Our only chance is to stay together.” I grabbed her sleeve and tugged her to the left with Holly and me. But Noelle wiggled out of her jacket and tossed it on the trail to the right.

“Go!” she yelled, pushing me down the other path. “Maybe my jacket will confuse them. They’ll think we took the other path.”

We ran until we couldn’t run anymore. My legs were like jelly, stumbling over the tiniest pebbles. Noelle’s plan must have worked because there weren’t any forest creatures behind us. “Let’s slow down,” I said, out of breath. “It’s getting dark. We should find shelter for the night.”

“What about my dad?” Noelle asked. “I have to find him.”

“It’ll be too dark to search soon, and we need to find shelter from—” I stopped. My mind swarmed with thoughts of all the terrible things in the forest we might need shelter from during the night.

“Go ahead. Say it!” Holly yelled. “All the terrifying things I’ve created? The scary things I’ll probably talk about while I’m having nightmares? I can’t take this anymore. Why did we even come here?” She sank to her knees and cried.

I knelt down beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, but I couldn’t ignore the journal. Not if there’s a way to end the curse.”

She nodded. “What are we going to do?” Her red, swollen eyes pleaded with me to find a way out of all this. I’m her big brother, and I’d gotten her lost inside a scary enchanted forest.

I sighed. “We’re going to find shelter. In the morning, we’re going to break the curse and find a way out of this forest.”

Holly used her sleeve to wipe the tears from her eyes. Then, she gave me a thin smile to let me know she was ready to move on.

I turned around to tell Noelle we were ready to go, but she was gone. “Noelle?” My eyes frantically searched the woods.

“You don’t think something got her, do you?” Holly asked, jumping to her feet.

I felt sick. I knew what Noelle had done. “She went to find her dad.” She was alone in the woods with danger lurking around every corner, and it was my fault.

“What do we do now? Even if we find her, we can’t force her to stay with us.”

Holly was right, and it wasn’t safe to walk in the dark, so we started searching for shelter—without Noelle. With each step, the path got more difficult to see. The trees and bushes overhanging the path blocked what little daylight was left. I had to walk with my arms up to protect my face from getting scratched by branches.

“That’s strange.” I squinted at something big and dark up ahead.

“What is it?” Holly asked. “And please don’t tell me that large blob is the backside of a b—”

I covered her mouth before she could finish her sentence and put us in danger again. “Please think about what you’re saying
before
you say it.” She nodded, and I lowered my hand.

“Sorry,” she said, biting her lip.

We walked closer to the object, and I smiled. “It’s our home for the night.” I grabbed Holly’s hand and pulled her toward a large tree that had been split in half, probably by lightning. The top of the tree had fallen over onto an enormous boulder, and moss had grown on the tree and rock, forming a sort of roof. “There’s just enough room under here for us to sleep.”

“We’re going to sleep under a fallen tree?” Holly asked.

“It’s the best shelter we’re going to find, unless you want to try to make our way back to the cave with the—”

“This looks great!” Holly interrupted.

“Good. Let’s get some rest.”

I needed to sleep after the day I’d had. Between all the walking and escaping dangerous animals, I was wiped. But, knowing that the fallen tree didn’t provide much protection from those animals made it almost impossible to even close my eyes. I wondered how Noelle was doing.

Every time I closed my eyes, I heard rustling in the woods and my eyes popped open. So, when the sun finally came up in the morning, I was more than ready to start searching for the Granville fortune. I had to break the curse, even if it meant not seeing Noelle again.

I nudged Holly’s shoulder. “Wake up.”

“Don’t eat me!” she screamed. Her arms flailed in front of her face.

There wasn’t much room, but I backed up as much as I could to avoid getting hit. “Holl, it’s me.”

She sprang up and hit her head on the tree limb above her. “Ouch!” she yelled, placing a hand on the top of her head.

She’d done it again! “Let’s not start the day with another injury. If you keep this up, I won’t have a shirt left to wrap your wounds in.”

“Very funny.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I think I can take your shirt off my ankle. It feels a little better.”

“Good, because we have no idea what the forest has in store for us today.”

I hated not knowing what to expect. It would’ve been nice to think that as long as we didn’t voice our fears, we’d get through the woods with no problems, but I was willing to bet the heart of the forest was going to be the scariest of all. And I guessed we were heading toward it.

“I’ve never been this hungry or thirsty in my life,” Holly said, letting out a groan. “My stomach is past the point of growling. It just hurts!”

“I know what you mean. We could try to follow the vultures again—if we come across them.” I scanned the sky, but it was clear. “We don’t know which way they went after we left them last night.”

“Ugh! Can’t something go right for once?”

“At least it looks like the weather will be nice today,” I said, trying to be optimistic, but there really wasn’t any bright side to the situation. We were cursed, hungry, lost, and doomed to be grounded for life if we ever made it home. We walked for hours until we heard mumbled voices.

“Did you hear that?” Holly asked, tugging on my sleeve.

“Shh!” I warned her. The last thing we needed was her imagination getting us into trouble again. I pushed aside a large branch. Not more than twenty-five feet ahead was a small clearing and two kids. The taller one couldn’t have been more than seventeen or eighteen, and the shorter one was about my age. “Get down,” I whispered, pulling Holly behind a large bush. “There are two guys in that clearing.” The boys must be brothers. The resemblance was strong—tall, dark, shaggy hair, and muscular.

“Maybe they could help us.”

“I don’t know. They look mean.” Both boys scowled as they talked.

“You don’t think they’re the thieves, do you? The ones from the journal?” Holly said, reading my mind.

“Don’t worry. If they are the Grimault thieves, they’re just searching for the Granville fortune. Besides, it’s not like we have any valuables for them to steal.” Holly opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. “Be quiet. I want to hear what they’re saying.” I leaned forward, but the boys were too far away. “I can’t hear them.”

“Do they have any food with them?” Holly asked.

Just like Holly—controlled by her stomach. “No, but the older one is holding—” My eyes widened.

Holly poked me between my shoulder blades. “What?”

“I think it’s the painting we left at the park.” What if they figured out they weren’t alone in the woods? That someone else was trying to find the fortune?

“Mom would’ve taken the painting home with her.”

“What if they found it before Mom did?”

“What if Mom was in the park when they found the painting? They could’ve done something to her,” Holly said.

“We have to follow them and see if that’s true.” I wanted to stay calm, but there were a million thoughts in my head and not one was good.

“What are they doing now?” Holly asked, tilting her head to see around me.

I peered over the bush. “They’re leaving. Come on, but be quiet.”

We followed the two guys to a campsite. Four green tents were pitched around a large campfire. The guys entered one of the tents.

“What is this place?” Holly asked once we were safely hidden behind a large boulder.

“I guess this is where the Grimaults are camping out while they search for the fortune. We should look around while they’re in that tent.”

“What if someone comes out while we’re snooping?”

“We’ll have to stay behind the trees and only go into the camp when it’s absolutely necessary.”

Holly’s face lit up. “Look! There’s bread and water by the fire. Do you think we could get to it without being seen?”

I surveyed the area, searching for the best path to the fire. “I think we should circle around to the other side by that tent. Then I’ll run out and grab the canteen and bread.”

“There aren’t as many trees to hide behind over there,” Holly said.

“You’re right. You better stay here. Hide behind this tree and keep out of sight. I’ll get the food.”

“Be careful.”

I crept from tree to tree, checking each of the tents to make sure no one was coming into the clearing. I made my way to the tent closest to the fire and gave Holly a little wave to let her know where I was. Then, I ran into the center of the camp, but I saw a look of panic on Holly’s face just as I got to the bread. I had no idea what was wrong, so I grabbed the food. As I turned around, I saw the boots of one of the thieves stepping out of a tent. It was the younger one. Luckily, he was looking at what I assumed was the painting of Braeden Forest that he held in his hands. I didn’t hesitate. I ran as fast as I could back into the trees.

I ducked behind the nearest tree, leaning my back against the trunk and holding my breath in fear. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure the thief would hear it and find me.

“Hey, where’s my bread and water?”

My body trembled as I clutched the canteen and loaf of bread to my chest.

“What are you yelling about, Edward?”

I peeked around the tree and saw the older boy coming out of his tent, rubbing his eyes. “I was trying to sleep.”

“Garret, did you eat my food?”

“What food? I told you I’m trying to sleep. You know I’m on patrol tonight, so keep quiet and let me rest,” Garret grumbled as he disappeared inside the tent.

I froze, afraid even the smallest step would give me away. My eyes darted in all directions, looking for Holly. I didn’t see her anywhere. I took that as a good sign. If I couldn’t see her, hopefully neither could Edward.

“Someone stole my food!” Edward kicked at the logs in the fire. His boot hit the flames and caught on fire. He yelled and jumped up and down, trying to stamp out the flames that were probably burning a hole through to his foot.

I ran to the next tree and caught a glimpse of Holly, still backed up against the oak tree. I tried to motion to her, but she was looking the other way. Edward was still trying to put out his flaming boot, so I ran to Holly and grabbed her arm. Before she saw it was me, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

I covered Holly’s mouth with my hand, but it was too late. Edward stopped stamping his boot against the ground and looked in every direction. I pushed Holly into the cover of the trees, and as I turned back to see what Edward was doing, my eyes locked with his. Neither of us moved.

Holly tugged on my arm. “Let’s get out of here!”

I stayed frozen in place. Thoughts of fortune, curses, and Noelle all jumbled together in my mind. Chills ran down my spine. I knew I should run, but I was strangely drawn to the camp. Something about Edward seemed almost familiar. Like I’d met him before. I didn’t have time to explain this to Holly because the other thief, Garret, came running into the center of the camp, holding a large knife.

“Who screamed?” asked Garret.

“They—” Edward stopped and stared at the fire still burning through his boot. He stomped so hard on the ground that enough dirt kicked up and put out the flame. “They went into the trees. Two of them.” Edward pointed in our direction. “They stole my food!”

I pushed Holly through the trees. “Run!”

Holly swatted at the tree branches. “Why are we running through all this? It’s slowing us down!”

“Those guys live in this forest. They know the paths better than we do. This is our only chance of getting away. But we have to stop talking, or they’ll follow the sound of our voices.”

I ran so fast I could hardly speak, but I managed to whisper, “This way,” between all my huffing and puffing. Holly and I ducked under the branch of a large elm tree. I looked back to see how close Edward and Garret were, but I didn’t see them. “Where did they go?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to keep up with—” Holly didn’t finish her sentence. She screamed instead.

I whipped my head around and saw Edward and Garret blocking our path. Holly and I ran right into their arms. I felt like a fool for not realizing the thieves probably knew all the shortcuts through the forest.

“Gotcha!” Garret yelled.

I didn’t even try to scream for help. It would’ve been useless. The only other people around were more Grimault thieves.

“What were you doing at our camp? And how did you get by the traps we set on the paths?” Garret asked.

“We’re lost. Please don’t hurt us,” Holly said in a shaky voice. Garret held her by her ponytail, and she was craning her neck to look at him.

“You expect us to believe you’re lost?” Garret said. “No one in their right mind comes into Braeden Forest. This place will eat you alive if you don’t know how to get around its enchantments.”

“What did you do with our mother?” I demanded, trying to sound tough. It wasn’t easy, considering these guys were terrifying. Edward looked normal enough, but I got this weird feeling around him—like my skin was crawling or something.

“Your mother’s here, too?” Edward said, squeezing my arms. His hands felt unusually warm through my shirt.

“So, you found the painting before our mom did,” I said, more as a statement than a question.

“What painting?” Edward and Garret asked as they exchanged a puzzled look.

“I saw you looking at it back at your camp.”

“A painting—yeah, that’s what we were looking at!” Garret laughed, and I could tell he was being sarcastic. I
really
didn’t like him.