Free This Changes Everything by Denise Grover Swank Page B

happened to the Lost Colony. She said it’s
America’s great mystery.”
    “Well, of course no
one else knows,” Ellie said with a smug smirk. “Only the Curse Keepers know.”
    “And me,” Claire
whispered, wide-eyed.
    And Claire . . . but
not yet. Daddy had warned her that terrible things would happen if she told
someone, and she was about to spill a huge secret. Her back tingled and her
right palm itched and burned. She scratched at it, wondering if this was a good
idea. The pressure on her chest was heavier and she sucked in a deep breath.
    Claire’s cold
hands grabbed Ellie’s, her fingernails digging into the padding inside her
fingers. Her tears had dried up and excitement sparkled in her eyes.
    How could Ellie not tell her now? “The colony disappeared because of the curse.”
    Claire’s grip
tightened.
    “We live in
Manteo, but do you know who it’s named after?”
    Her friend shook
her head.
    Ellie wasn’t
surprised. Claire hadn’t been born here. Everyone who lived here knew the Lost
Colony story by the time they were in first grade, but Claire had moved here six
months ago, right after the end of second grade. “Manteo was an Indian who
helped the English people. So they named the town after him. But he didn’t just
help them get food and protect them from the other tribes. He tried to get rid
of the Native American gods of the enemy tribes.”
    Claire was
mesmerized. “Why would he do that?”
    “Because he thought
that was how they got their power to fight,” Ellie said, trying to say it the
way her father had taught her. Sometimes it was still hard to understand, but
Ellie would always nod her head and repeat whatever he said, eager to please
him. “Manteo thought if their gods were locked up, they couldn’t attack and
hurt Manteo’s tribe—the Croatan—and the colonists, so he and Ananias Dare
performed a ceremony.”
    “Ananias Dare! I
know that name!” Claire said, her voice rising in excitement. “That’s the name
of the street downtown!”
    “Yeah, but he was
a real person too. He was married to Elinor Dare, and her father was the
governor, John White.”
    “Wait.” Claire’s
eyes bugged out. “ Your name is Elinor Dare Lancaster.”
    “Because she’s my
great, great, great something grandmother.” Daddy had told her, but she always
forgot how many “greats” there were.
    Claire frowned
her skepticism. “Nuh-uh.”
    Ellie’s
irritation ignited. She wasn’t even supposed to be telling Claire, and now she
acted like Ellie was lying. She crossed her arms over her chest and asked in a
snotty tone, “Do you want to hear what happened or not ?”
    Claire flinched
with contrition and nodded. “I do.”
    Ellie fumed for a
little bit before going on. “So these two guys had some kind of ceremony. They
each had something special to help them. Ananias had a pewter cup. It’s in
Daddy’s office right now.”
    Claire’s eyes
were about to bug out of her head. “No. Way.”
    “I’ll show you.”
    Claire jumped to
her feet. “Okay.”
    They climbed the
steps to the screened-in front porch. Ellie was careful not to let the door
slam shut. Usually she didn’t care, but she was sure Daddy wouldn’t approve of
her showing Claire the cup, let alone telling her about the curse.
But at this point, she was upset that Claire wasn’t believing her, so she had to show it. Following Ellie’s lead, Claire tiptoed behind her into the office.
    Ellie loved her
daddy’s study. A big dark wooden desk was in the middle of the room, and Daddy
always looked so important when he sat there, searching through his books and
writing in his notebooks. The walls were lined with hundreds of books. She’d
tried to count them several times and always lost track. The room smelled of cinnamon
and leather, a scent that always seemed to hang onto her father. Sometimes when
he was on a trip and she missed him, she’d come into the room and close her
eyes and breathe in the smell of him.
    But