Free The Curse Keepers (Curse Keepers series) by Denise Grover Swank Page A

Ellie. Passed down from generation to generation. It’s our obligation.
Our right
. How can you treat it so casually? So
irreverently
? Do you realize what’s at stake?”
    My mouth opened, but I was at a loss for words. Every excuse I had had sounded so rational yesterday.
    Collin shook his head, then stormed out the door, slamming it behind him while I watched, my mouth still gaping.
    I sat on the stool Collin had just vacated and covered my face with my hands. Of course he was angry. Collin had bought the curse story hook, line, and sinker and had spent his life preparing to perform his duty. And then there was Ellie Lancaster, who not only refused to believe the curse but who pawned the very thing necessary to send the spirits back. He had every right to be angry and frustrated with me, so why was I so upset?
    Because Collin only reinforced that I’d let my father down. The only thing my father had ever asked of me, the thing he’d tried so hard to prepare me for, and I’d thrown it all away. In my defense, any sane person would have questioned the story. Keepers had been waiting over four hundred years for this moment. Why would I think the curse would actually break while I was on duty, even if I believed it?
    So why don’t you feel any better?
    Fifteen minutes later Collin stood at my front door, calmer but more distant than before he left. “If you pawned it a few months ago, they should still have it.”
    I nodded. I hoped so.
    He looked into my eyes. “What’s your relic? What are we looking for?”
    My breath caught in surprise. “You don’t know?”
    “While I obviously know more than you, I don’t know everything. So no, I don’t know what your artifact is. But I do know we need it if we want to perform this ceremony. What is it?”
    “A pewter cup.” I couldn’t believe Collin Dailey was admitting he didn’t know everything. That meant I could admit I didn’t know what his artifact was without looking like an idiot. “So what’s yours?”
    “That sounds like a bad pickup line.”
    I snorted. “If anyone would know about bad pickup lines, you would.”
    His eyebrows rose, and he gave me a sardonic smile. “You think I need pickup lines?”
    Cocky Collin was back. I wasn’t sure whether I preferred him to angry Collin or not. Damn my mouth. I knew for a fact this man didn’t need pickup lines, but I sure wasn’t going to admit that to him. “You didn’t answer my question. What’s your artifact?”
    “A wooden bowl.”
    That made sense. I did know the relics were part of the ceremony. I only knew that because when Daddy had realized he was losing his memories several years ago, he handed me the cup and told me it was the Dare relic and was essential to the ceremony. I took it grudgingly, but refused to listen to any more nonsense. “So what do you want to do?”
    “It’s a little after four o’clock. Let’s go to the pawnshop and see if it’s still there.”
    “Together?”
    “Of course together. I could send you alone but honestly, I think we need to stick together as much as possible until this thing is done.”
    “What? You don’t trust me to get it?”
    “I don’t trust you to not get killed. Spirits are on the loose, and they don’t want to return to where they came from. They know we plan to send them back and they’ll do anything they can to keep that from happening.”
    My breath caught in my chest. “And the only thing that can send them back is us,” I wheezed out. I hadn’t considered that aspect. How would the spirits even know who we were? How did one defend oneself against an angry spirit? I wasn’t about to ask the angry human in front of me.
    He looked grim. “While I think you’re an irresponsible slacker, unfortunately, I need you. So get whatever you need and let’s go.”
    Was he suggesting we’d be gone for the next six days or only for the evening? “To the pawnshop?”
    A disgusted look crossed his face. “No, the moon. Of course the