The Curse Defiers (25 page)

“And second, I don’t keep tabs on the bastard. We spent a week together and then we were done.”

She dabbed her nose again, then glanced out the window before returning her gaze to me, her eyes hard. “That’s not what my sources say. I know he protects you and that you two are capable of great things together.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. “I think you do. In fact, I’m counting on it.”

The smugness in her voice sent a shiver down my spine. “What are you talking about?”

Her head tilted slightly. “Unfortunately for Dr. Preston, he was quite uncooperative.”

My chest tightened and the blood rushed from my head.
Focus, Ellie. Focus
. “Funny, I’ve found him to be quite the opposite. He’s proven himself entirely useful.”

“I know that you’re fond of him, Elinor.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You sent him to see the collection, didn’t you? You’re curious about what we possess. Dr. Preston was sent to evaluate it.” She tsked and shook her head. “It’s a pity what happened to his ex-girlfriend.” Her eyes lit up. “Have you noticed that the collection seems to be quite unlucky? When outsiders come to see it, foul play usually befalls them. You know this firsthand. On multiple counts.” She shook her head. “Your poor Dr. Preston was doomed from the moment he stepped into the warehouse.”

I forced myself to remain calm, at least on the outside. Time to pull more Collin Dailey tricks. I was playing the role of an aloof bitch who was about to kick an old woman’s ass. Or maybe I wasn’t pretending. “And where is Dr. Preston now?”

She grinned. “Somewhere safe.” Her mouth twisted in amusement. “Well, safe for my purposes. I shall not comment on his physical state. And no, he’s no longer in the warehouse.”

I forced a wry smile. “I’m going to need him back. I’m not done with him yet.”

“I’m counting on that.”

“If your time is so valuable, tell me what you want.”

“An exchange of a sort. Your Dr. Preston for your cooperation.”

“With what?”

“We want to locate the gate to hell.”

I blinked, certain that I’d heard her wrong. “What?”

“We want you to provide us with the location of the gate to hell. We’ll meet you there and then we’ll hand over Dr. Preston.”

“That’s it?”

She smiled. “We want the location confirmed. We’ll need Mr. Dailey to be present to ensure that.”

My heart sunk. There was no way Collin would go for that. “I want something in return.”

She laughed in surprise. “You’ll get your valuable Dr. Preston. Isn’t that reward enough?”

“No. I want more.”

“You’re not exactly in a position to negotiate.”

“I think I am. You need me and you need Collin. Collin can’t stand David, so he’ll never agree to cooperate. He’ll gladly see him gone. You’ll need to make it worth his while as well.”

She pondered my statement. “Obviously, you have something in mind.”

“There’s a seventeenth-century Croatan spear. I believe it’s in your possession. He’ll want that as well as the Sword of Galahad.”

She shook her head. “No.”

I sighed, reaching for the car door. “Then I guess we’re done here.”

She laughed. “You haven’t fooled me. I know you care more about Dr. Preston than you’re letting on. You’re not going to just walk away and leave his life in my hands.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re right. I do care about David, but I also know Collin. There’s no fucking way he’ll agree to this unless he’s getting something in return. Something big. So if you won’t offer anything up, I don’t see any point in wasting more of either of our
valuable
time.”

“The spear. Not the sword.”

I shook my head.

“That’s the best you’ll get, Elinor. Take it or leave it.”

“It’s not my call to make,
Miriam
. It’s up to Collin.” I opened the car door, but she surprised me by grabbing the handle and pulling it closed.

“If you are going to leave without reaching an agreement with me, then I’ll need a deposit to pay for the care and well-being of your beloved Dr. Preston. Otherwise we’ll deliver him dead.”

I couldn’t contain my shock.

She smiled and almost looked pleasant, like an overly polite grandmother. “I thought that might grab your attention.”

“What do you want?”

“The ring on your hand.”

I instinctively raised my hand, my left hand fingering the band. “Why?”

She tilted her head to the side, irritation flickering in her eyes. “
Why?
Because it doesn’t belong to you. It was given to your mother in good faith and never returned. It belongs to the Guardians.”

“Did you play any part in my mother’s murder?”

She rolled her eyes in disgust. “Why would we want her killed? We wanted her expertise. She was killed by barbarians. We presumed they stole the ring.”

“Why do
you
want it?”

“Seeing how it is my property, I don’t feel the need to tell you. Why do
you
want it?”

“Sentimental reasons.”

She chuckled. “You are a very gifted liar.”

Collin would be so proud.

“I need you, Elinor, and I’d prefer for you to be cooperative. I’m told you need a bit more time before you’re ready, so I’m happy to let you go prepare. But make no mistake: I have no problem taking you with me right now. So I’ll take your ring as a down payment for Dr. Preston’s care as well as insurance that you’ll meet me tomorrow night.”

Did I really have a choice? Could she or someone else in her group use the power of the ring? Did they even know what to do with it?

Her eyes narrowed. “
Now
, Elinor.”

With shaky fingers, I slipped the band off my finger and placed it in her open palm. While I’d never planned to use it, my finger felt naked, and I worried about what she’d do with it. But I’d do anything to save David, even if I was trying to project otherwise.

“That’s a good girl.” She thrust a cell phone toward me. “You’ll want this. Call the most recent number with your answer. But don’t take too long. Dr. Preston’s current hosts aren’t very civilized, if you catch my meaning.” She leaned toward the door and called out, “Marco, Ms. Lancaster has recovered enough to take her leave.”

He opened the door and I started to get out, but before I did, I turned around to stare at her.

“You messed with the wrong person,” I said after a long moment passed. “You might get what you want this time, but in the end, I will hunt you down and make you sorry you ever messed with me.”

She laughed. “You
are
quite entertaining.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “The last demon I killed thought the same. Disposing of you will be ten times easier.” I climbed out and slammed the door on Miriam’s stunned face.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t an empty threat.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY

The limo pulled away just as Collin rounded the corner.

“Ellie!”

I turned to him, my anger surging. “Did you get David?” I asked, hoping Miriam had been bluffing even if I knew better.

“No! I came after you!” He watched the limo drive away and then looked down at my torn collar. His eyes hardened as he clenched his fists at his sides. “What happened?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

His gaze drifted to my still-red arms. “You don’t look fine. Why did you run after them? What happened?”

“I’m
fine
, and I got some answers.” My voice quivered on the last word and I started to break apart, but I pushed down my panic. “She said they have him.”

“You actually talked to her? What else did she say?”

I tried to step around him, but he blocked my path. “I’m not telling you a goddamned thing. How does
that
feel?” I shouted, shoving his chest with the heels of my hands, the phone she gave me still in my grip. “Now get out of my way.”

He stood his ground. “Why’d she let you go?”

I gritted my teeth, anger surging through my veins. I latched on to it, because I couldn’t let myself think of the worst-case scenario. “Get out of my way, Collin.
Now
. I have to find David.”

He studied me for several seconds before stepping to the side. I took off sprinting, but he easily fell in step beside me. “We have to stick together, Ellie. You need to tell me what you found out.”

I shook my head, worried that I’d burst into tears if I tried talking. There was little chance that David was still in that building—after all, she’d flat out told me that he wasn’t—but I had to make sure before I let myself accept it.

I skidded to a halt in front of the glass door to the front office, grunting in frustration when the door wouldn’t open for me. Out of breath, I leaned over my legs and sucked in lungfuls of air, willing myself not to cry. “I have to get into this damned building.” But when I scanned the street for something that would break the glass, I came up empty.

Collin had stopped next to me, but he took off down the road and rounded the corner while I continued to futilely pull on the door. David surely had a jack in the back of his car, but he had the keys. I pounded my fists on the glass in frustration.

“You’ve got quite the temper, but I don’t think that’s going to get it open,” Collin called out. He came back into sight with a crowbar in his hand. “This will come in handy all the way around. Step back.”

I took several steps away and he swung the steel rod at the door without any hesitation, creating a hole that fractured the entire pane but left the glass in the frame. Several quick taps knocked the shards to the floor.

As far as I knew, Collin never carried weapons—other than the crowbar currently in his hand—but I wasn’t about to go in there unarmed. Not after Saturday night. I grabbed the bar out of his hand and strode toward David’s car as I shoved the phone I held into my pocket.

“Ellie. What are you doing?” he called after me.

I swung the bar into the driver-side window, but it bounced off.

“Ellie! Now’s not the time to have a fit.”

Ignoring him, I jerked the bar back and swung it two more times before the glass in the window shattered and fell onto the seat. I tossed the crowbar onto the pavement in front of Collin. While he bent down to retrieve it, I reached into the car and popped the trunk.

“
Ellie
.”

I stomped around the back of the car and lifted the lid, then pulled out the sword.

“What the fuck is that and what do you think you’re going to do with it?” Collin asked as we headed back to the office, a hard edge in his voice.

My gaze hardened. “Protect myself.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed with that thing.”

“This
thing
saved my life two nights ago, so I’ll take my chances.”

He looked doubtful but kept his opinion to himself as he ducked under the door handle, the only barrier to the now-gaping doorway. “We don’t have long, so let’s hurry.”

I followed after glancing down the street to make sure no one had noticed us, even though it was too late for that. Luckily, the area was completely deserted. I only hoped no one in the flooring showroom was watching.

We stood in the small foyer, the keypad on the secured door mocking us. “Will your crowbar get us through that door too?” I asked, some of my anger fading.

“Why? Eager to try your new toy?” he asked with a sneer.

“Shut the fuck up, Collin.” I was ready to kick someone’s ass and if Collin wanted to volunteer for the position, more power to him.

“No, my crowbar
won’t open it, but
this
will.” He punched in a code and then tugged on the door.

I gasped when it opened. “How do you know the code?”

“I watched them with binoculars, remember? It wasn’t hard to figure it out. I planned to check it out later anyway.”

I started to walk past him, the tip of the sword pointed toward the floor, but he grabbed my arm and held me still. “Slow down. I know you want to find him, but we need to sneak in before we start eviscerating people,” he whispered sarcastically. “Let me go first.”

I almost pointed out that breaking the glass door and my attack on David’s car had ruined any chance at stealth, but instead I nodded. And I had no problem letting Collin take the lead. There was no denying he had more experience with break-ins than I did, even though I seemed to be racking up a fair amount of experience the more time I spent with him.

He stuck his head through the opening and peered around the corner before slipping through the door and motioning me to follow. We entered a dim six-foot-long hallway with stark white walls and a single flickering fluorescent overhead. At the end of the hall was another door with a keypad.

Collin lifted his hand to punch the buttons, but stopped and turned at the waist to stare into my eyes. His irritation softened. “Ellie, I know you’re upset, but don’t do anything stupid with that sword when we get in here.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see what we find.” I hadn’t grabbed it with the intention of protecting myself from human attackers. Even though it was daylight, I wanted to be equipped to defend myself against supernatural foes. But if David was inside and using the sword would help me save him, I wouldn’t hesitate, not even if the threat came from a human. Still, I hoped I wouldn’t need it.

Scowling, Collin entered the same code he’d used before, which—to my surprise—worked. He slowly opened the door and scanned the room before motioning to me. We stood in a large space that reminded me of some type of distribution center. Two rows of empty stainless steel tables that resembled the ones in the kitchen of the New Moon filled the space. Collin tossed the crowbar onto one of the tables with a loud clang, then walked down one of the rows and spun around in a circle. “They’re gone.”

“No shit.” Anger surged through my body again, burning away the tears that stung behind my eyes. My grip on the sword tightened. “How did this happen?” My accusation was clear.

His mouth dropped open. “How did
what
happen?”

“How did they manage to take him away without us even noticing? We were both watching the building!” I shouted.

Collin walked over to me and snatched the sword out of my hand before I could stop him. He dropped it on a nearby table and then grabbed my shoulders, his face firm. “I know you’re upset right now, and if it makes you feel better to blame me for this along with everything else, go right ahead. But I need you to focus and tell me what that woman said to you.”

I took several deep breaths.

His face softened. “If you want me to help you find David, you have to give me whatever information you have.”

I hated to admit it, but he was right. Now was not the time to be petty. “Her name is Miriam Peabody. I’m sure she’s the woman Allison met. She confirmed they’ve been collecting weapons. She said there’s a war brewing and they’ve been preparing for centuries. According to her, it’s important to not only be prepared but to pick the right side.”

He frowned. “What’s the right side?”

I gave him an ugly smirk. “The side that benefits them. Whatever the fuck side that is.”

Collin placed the heel of his hand against his temple, looking bewildered.

I nodded. “I ran in front of her limo and pretended I’d been attacked so she’d let me in the back. She did, but she knew who I was from the start. She called me by my full name—Elinor Dare Lancaster—and told me she had been about to start looking for me.”

His face tensed as his gaze jerked to my face. “Why?”

“She said I’m a key player in the outcome of the war. She also knows about you and the fact that you’ve been marking my doors. She called you by name.”

“They’ve been watching us?”

I didn’t answer his question. I didn’t know how. “They took David.” My voice broke and I stiffened my shoulders. “She offered me a trade.”

He lowered his hand. “What does she want?”

“She took the ring and she wants me to show her the gate to hell.”

“She wants
what
?” His eyes widened and he took a step back. “
Why?
And how does she even know about Popogusso?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. But she wants both of us to show it to her and prove it’s real. She seemed confused when I mentioned the curse.”

He rested his butt against a table, looking like he’d been blindsided. “The only people who know anything about the curse on my side are my grandmother and my brother. And I
know
they didn’t tell anyone.”

“The only people who know about it on my side are Claire and Drew, and they would never tell . . . And I told Tom last night,” I added as an afterthought.

He bounced upright, his face red. “You did
what
?”

Who the hell was he to judge me? “You’ve been out on your boat frolicking with all your demon buddies while I’ve been stuck in Manteo dealing with the fallout of their extracurricular activities. Which brings me face-to-face with Officer Helmsworth on a regular basis.” I took a breath, my irritation softening. I couldn’t blame Collin for being upset—this affected him too. “Look, he’s not stupid, Collin. He knows there are supernatural forces behind what’s happening in Manteo, and he knows I’m square in the middle of it. The Raven Mockers are killing people every night and he’s trying to save them. Tsagasi told me what to do, so I told Tom. Was I supposed to keep that from him?”

He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. “What a fucked-up mess.”

“But I only told him late last night, so there’s no way they found out from him.”

He stood upright and turned toward me, his eyes gleaming with determination. “We need to figure out how they know about us.”

“I can’t think of anyone else.”

He stared at the floor for several seconds before looking up. “You’re forgetting about Myra.”

I shook my head. “There’s no way Myra would tell anyone.”

“She’s seeing someone now, right? Didn’t she move to Durham to be closer to him?”

“Well . . . yeah . . . but she wouldn’t tell him.”

“What if she slipped? You and I both know how easy it is to get caught up in the heat of the moment and say something you don’t mean to.”

My face burned with the memory of the things I’d said to him. Things I should have kept to myself. Yet despite his betrayal and the fact that the man I loved was in mortal danger, my body responded to the memory of being with Collin. I hated him a little for that, even though it wasn’t his fault. “Steven’s an old family friend. He would never put my life in danger.”

The pain in his eyes told me that he noticed the venom behind my words. “Maybe he accidently told someone, Ellie. We need to talk to him and find out.”

I just couldn’t believe Myra would tell him, let alone that Steven would sell me out. “What if it wasn’t someone human? What if a supernatural creature spilled the beans?”

“To what end?”

“I don’t know!” I shouted in irritation. “Maybe it’s Ahone. Miriam took the ring. She knows it does something.”