The Curse Defiers (21 page)

C
HAPTER
S
EVENTEEN

I found David at the kitchen table, huddled over his laptop. He looked relieved to see me. “I was getting worried about you. You were gone for over an hour.”

“I saw Tsagasi. He watched over me while I remembered what happened the night my mother was killed.”

He took off his reading glasses and put them on the table. “You remembered? How?”

“By using my power as a witness to creation. And there’s something else I need to tell you before I tell you what I remembered. I have my own quartet of protectors now.”

His eyebrows lifted. “You have
what
?”

I told him about the blood oath I’d made in the woods.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the chair next to him. “Are you sure that was a good idea?” There was no recrimination in his voice, only genuine curiosity.

“You’ve taught me to trust my instincts. So far it hasn’t let me down. I had a moment of worry when Ama—the female Nunnehi warrior—commented that my blood was more powerful than she expected, but Tsagasi said he was certain we could work together to defy the gods.” I released a heavy sigh. “That’s what we’re doing, isn’t it? Defying the gods and the plans they want to use me for?”

His hand gripped mine and held on tight. “Yeah, we are.”

I studied his face. “Very few people in the history of mythology have ever defied the gods and survived.”

His mouth shifted to one side. “Then they’ve finally met their match.”

My love for him blossomed even more. He truly believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could do this.

I told him how I’d tapped into my power and relived Momma’s murder. I stood and paced while I spoke, too antsy to sit still.

When I got to the part about finding my mother on the floor, he stood and pulled me into a hug. “Oh my God, Ellie. That’s horrible. No wonder you forgot. You were traumatized.”

I leaned back. “No, I forgot because that selfish asshole Ahone didn’t want me to remember. He stole my memories from me.” I told him the rest of the story, and then we stood in silence for several minutes.

“David, there’s more.”

“Okay . . .”

“Tsagasi told me I needed to call Collin and tell him about his father and our plan to go to Charlotte.”

“And did you?”

“Yes.”

His left eye twitched as he searched my face. “And what happened in your conversation?”

I stood and took a deep breath. “He claims he didn’t know the truth about his father until a couple of months ago. He put it all together the day we got the cup back.”

He looked skeptical. “And you believe him?”

I resisted the urge to turn away from his scrutinizing gaze. “Yes, I completely trust him in this instance.”

He stiffened and turned toward the sink.

I followed him. “He’s the other Keeper, David. Tsagasi’s right. I can do some of this on my own, but at some point, I’m going to need Collin.”

He pulled a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water from the faucet, refusing to look at me. “He doesn’t want to help you, Ellie. Have you forgotten that part?”

“He wants to come to Charlotte.”

“Of course he does. He wants to see the collection.” His face lifted. “What did you tell him?”

I paused. “I told him yes.”

His eyes hardened. “And what if I disagree?”

While I presumed David wouldn’t be happy with Collin’s involvement, it had never once occurred to me that he would try to prevent it. “Why would you disagree?”

He set the glass on the counter with a loud thud. “He’s using you, Ellie. Just like he’s used you every step of the way since he walked into your restaurant and purposely put you in danger.”

Could I really argue with that? “So you want just the two of us to check out this collection? We’re in over our heads. Two people have died for it, someone close to each of us. We both know how dangerous this is. Do we even have a plan other than just show up at ten?”

He slammed the cabinet door shut, anger radiating from his body. “Yes, I realize it’s dangerous, but your solution is to add another dangerous element. Collin is not to be trusted. He’s proven that time and time again. Why would you want to involve him?”

“He’s betrayed me and deceived me, yes, but he would never try to purposely hurt me.”

David rested his back against the counter, looking out the window over the sink. “Are you even listening to yourself right now? You just admitted that the wanker deceived you”—he suddenly turned and grabbed my right hand, jerking me toward him and exposing my palm, pressing his thumb to the scar from the knife wound Collin had inflicted, my wound from the blood oath ceremony still fresh—“that he bloody
betrayed you
, Ellie, and yet you say he would never purposely hurt you.” He dropped my hand and looked into my face. “No.”

My eyes widened. “
No?
”

“No.” He shook his head. “Not just no. Hell no. Fuck no. No fucking way, no.”

I put my hands on my hips, trying to keep my anger in check. “I’ll take your suggestion under consideration.”

He stepped away from the counter, his eyes burning with fury. “It’s not a fucking suggestion, Ellie. It’s a statement.
No
.”

I shook my head. “That’s not the way this works, David. I’m in charge when it comes to the curse. You make suggestions. I consider them. Then
I
decide.”

He shook his head, his mouth twisting in anger. “Not anymore. Not after last night. I’m as much a part of this as you are. I have just as much to lose as you do.”

My mouth parted in surprise. “We had an agreement. You can’t change the rules, David.”

He spread his hands wide. “Well, guess bloody fucking what, Ellie?
I just did
.”

I shook my head. “No. I agreed to take your suggestions under advisement, but
I
get to decide. We both came up with the rules. We
both
agreed on them.”

“Forgive me if I was too naïve to realize what I was getting myself into. Last night made it perfectly clear that we’re playing a very deadly game. It’s one thing to talk in abstracts, but this is
real
.”

“And Ukinim and Ilena were real too. You didn’t try to change the rules then.”

“This is different, Ellie!”

“Why? Because you lost someone you care about?” I shouted. “Well, welcome to my world! I’ve lost both my parents to this curse!” But even as I said the words, I realized how unfair I was being. I was asking him to put his life and the lives of people he cared about completely in my hands. How would I feel if I was in his position? All my fight fled and I sagged against the wall.

His voice softened. “I’m your in to the Ricardo Estate. I’m the person they’re expecting. I know what to look for. This is my area of expertise. You need me to do this, Ellie, but if you involve him, I won’t take any part in it.”

I gaped at him. “You’re serious?”

“I am unless you can give me a really good reason to change my mind. And the fact that he has experience with breaking and entering isn’t about to sway me.”

I could argue that I needed Collin to fight supernatural beings, but we were dealing with humans in this situation. And David had just admitted Collin’s criminal past wouldn’t convince him we needed his help. “Okay. What’s your plan?”

“As you know, I have an appointment with the Guardians at ten tomorrow morning. They’re calling themselves the Henderson Foundation. I told them I know everything Allison knew about the collection and that I have the research she conducted.”

“Do you?”

“No.”

I stared at him, my eyes wide.

“Don’t look so surprised. Collin isn’t your only boyfriend who’s capable of deception.”

I bit back an ugly retort. My temper never resolved anything. “David, this could all go so wrong.” I lifted my chin. If he wanted to do this alone, we could still make it work. “But I can think on my feet too, so I think we’ll be able to get the information we need.”

“There is no we, Ellie. Me. I’m going alone.”

“No.” I shook my head. “No way.”

“They’re only expecting me.”

“Tell them I’m your assistant or something.”

“No. They told me to come alone.”

“And that doesn’t make you question the situation?” My voice rose. “Why would they want you to come alone if it wasn’t dangerous?”

His cold eyes pinned mine. “There’s something important enough in these pieces that people are dying for them. I want to find out what it is. I owe that to Allison.”

“You didn’t kill her.”

He brushed past me into the living room and I grabbed his arm, but he shrugged me off.

“David, she would have died whether we were there or not. I think she died because she went to see the collection.”

He spun around to glare at me. “You don’t know that for sure. Those
things
made sure to prolong her torture until you showed up. There was definitely a personal tie there.”

I swallowed the lump of guilt in my throat. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I’d do anything to change it.”

He released a heavy sigh and then pulled me against his chest. “I’m sorry, Ellie. I know this isn’t your fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s Collin Dailey. He fucked up everything when he walked into your restaurant and broke the curse.” His voice hardened. “Her death is on
his
head.” He leaned back and looked down into my eyes. “So, no. We will
not
be using that wanker’s help.”

I nodded, biting back tears. “Okay. No Collin.”

His eyes softened. “Thank you.”

Fundamentally, I disagreed with his request, but he was right about Collin’s culpability. Ultimately, Allison was dead because Collin had broken the curse. But I could take it a step further and say I was partially responsible for not learning enough to stop him. Ahone may have stolen my memories of the curse, but I flat out refused to relearn anything about it. And after Collin had confessed that Ahone had convinced him to do it, I couldn’t help but feel sympathetic. I wondered what I would have done if a duplicitous god had approached me and tried to convince me that breaking the curse was best for all concerned. Would I have fallen for it too?

But I couldn’t make David endure Collin’s presence. I’d already put him through enough, and he alone had an invitation to see the collection. We didn’t need Collin for that. While I struggled to convince myself it was a good plan, I knew in my gut it wasn’t. I needed Collin there—
we
needed him, whether David wanted to admit it or not.

David was right about one thing. He’d graduated to a new level last night. He was no longer a tagalong assistant; he was a partner, whether he had magical powers or not. A good team was made up of people with various skills and talents. We needed to focus on David’s strengths and put them to the test the next morning.

“So what’s the rest of your plan?” I asked.

“Tomorrow morning, you’ll stay here while I go to Charlotte.”

I put my hands on my hips, glaring at him. “I’m going to Charlotte with you, David. If you even think about trying to go without me, I’ll just rent a car and follow you.” He started to protest and I held up my hand. “And I know the address now—I saw it over your shoulder when you were looking up the driving directions—so don’t think I won’t do it.”

“I’m supposed to go alone, Ellie.”

“It doesn’t mean I can’t go to Charlotte with you.”

He looked unconvinced.

“Do you really want me to be two hours away from you? We both know how many of these creatures are out there right now. What if they attack me while you’re gone?” I purposely avoided reminding him about my new protectors, purchased through my blood oath.

And that was what finally swayed him. My safety, not his own.

Since his meeting was at ten in the morning and the drive to Charlotte was two and a half hours, we decided to get up early and leave by six thirty to make sure he wouldn’t be late if we ran into traffic. We looked up the address online and checked out satellite images of the office building and the surrounding area.

The office was in an industrial area, which made it sketchier. When we looked up the addresses of the offices around it, we discovered that many of the businesses had closed.