This Place is Death (A Curse Keepers Secret) by Denise Grover Swank Read Free Book Online Page B

itself, Okeus’s screams fading as the first ray of sun shot into the morning sky.
    Ananias fell to his knees, weak with exhaustion and fear, and Manteo leaned over and vomited onto the ground.
    Ahone moved toward the two men and Ananias flinched. How had this god escaped exile? What horror awaited him now?
    The god spread his arms. “Okeus has created a weakness to the curse. The gate will open if you or your successors touch marks. But I give you this: When the curse eventually breaks, you will have until the beginning of the seventh day to repeat the ceremony and reseal the gate. If you do not succeed, the two Keepers together will still have the power to control them.”
    Ananias’s head shot up. “What does that mean?”
    “It means that one day the gate will open, but you both have power over the spirit world now, not just Manteo. Ananias, you must learn these words of protection and teach them to your descendants so that they will be ready when the demons are freed: I am the son of the sea, born of the essence present at the beginning of time and the end of the world. I am black water and crystal streams. The ocean waves and the raindrops in the sky. I am life and death and everything in between. I compel you to leave my sight .”
    The words burned into Ananias’s head and he knew he would never forget them even if he tried.
    “If the gods are freed—together and only together—you can send them back, whether it’s by resealing the gate or sending the gods and demons back one by one. You are the Curse Keepers, as your children will be after you.”
    Ananias climbed to his feet and waved to the tree that now stood where the gate had been. “ How is this possible ?”
    “I taught my child Manteo how to use magic more ancient than the power of the spirits and gods. Manteo used the essence of the earth and the sea, which existed before all things. We gods sprang from their union, but their power existed eons before we were born. This power is now infused in your blood.”
    Manteo stared at the mark on his hand. “But if our marks touch, even accidentally, the gate will open?”
    “Yes.”
    “I must return to my people,” Manteo said, turning to Ananias. “My family and I will keep to the south, and you will stay on the island. We must make sure this evil is never loosed upon the earth.”
    Ananias didn’t give a damn where Manteo went. At the first available opportunity, he planned to gather his family and return to England.
    “If you have any questions, ask them now,” Ahone said. “Once I ascend back into the heavens, I will not return until the gate has opened again.”
    Ananias had no idea what to ask, other than the burning question in his head, “Is my family safe now?”
    Ahone lowered his gaze. “Sacrifices have been made.”
    Panic turned Ananias’s blood to sludge. He turned to Manteo. “What was my sacrifice?”
    Regret covered Manteo’s face. “The tosh-shonte are a blight upon our land. Once your people realize they have no foothold here, they will go and leave our people in peace. I have at last been released from my wretched vow.”
    Ananias’s breath came in short bursts. “What did you sacrifice on my behalf?”
    Manteo’s gaze narrowed. “You call yourself my friend, yet you know nothing about me or my people. You want us to adapt to your ways, and you care nothing for ours. I’ve spent enough time in your land, and it is a vile and ugly place.” He spat. “After I realized the significance of this sacred place, Ahone came to me. He offered me a way to save myself from my nuppin enemies as well as my vow to the English. When I saw the perfection of his plan, I returned to my people to seek my mother’s blessing.”
    Why wasn’t Manteo answering him? “What did you sacrifice on my behalf?”
    Manteo’s face darkened with anger. “Your people have a saying from your bible: an eye for an eye. It seemed fitting in this instance, given what your people did to the Roanoke