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her worries. “And . . . and then I heard you and Daddy
fighting and I got scared.”
    “Oh, sweetie.”
Her mother’s arm tightened around her. “First of all, we weren’t fighting. We
had a disagreement—there’s a difference. Second”—she lifted Ellie’s chin so she
was looking into her mother’s hazel eyes—“your father and I aren’t getting a divorce. We love each other—and you—very much. We couldn’t bear to
live without each other. You have nothing to worry about.” Her mother kissed
her forehead. “Do you believe me?”
    Ellie nodded,
reaching an arm across her mother’s stomach and squeezing her side.
    “Is there
anything else bothering you?”
    She hesitated.
“It’s about the curse.”
    Momma’s eyes
widened before she recovered. “Okay.”
    “Daddy says I
can’t tell anyone about it or bad things would happen.” She bit the right side
of her lower lip. “What if I accidently told someone?” It hadn’t been
accidental at all, but it was easier to admit that way.
    Her mother pulled
her closer. “Ellie, the curse is all fairy tales and make-believe. I let your
father tell you his tales, but I want you to know that it’s not real. If you
tell someone, nothing bad will happen. I promise.”
    As Ellie snuggled
closer to her momma, she could almost believe everything would be okay. But she
knew something wasn’t right. It was like when the mist rolled in from the
sound, making everything all blurry and fuzzy. She knew she had to make
everything right again.
    If only she knew
how.

Chapter Three
    The rain beat
against the windows as Ellie hunched over her spelling words in the kitchen
after dinner. A cold wind blew in from the north, and her chest had felt heavy
all day. It had been two days since she’d told Claire about the curse, and so
far nothing terrible had happened. Still, Momma and Daddy had been acting
strangely, whispering when Ellie was around and raising their voices in heated
discussions when they thought she wasn’t. She couldn’t figure out what they
were talking about except for bits and pieces.
    Even now she
could hear as her parents’ voices floated in from her father’s office, and her
curiosity got the better of her. She slid off her chair and snuck into the
hallway, hiding in the shadows, her back pressed against the wall.
    “I know you
signed a nondisclosure agreement, Amanda, but I’m begging you to tell me what
you saw.” There was a pause, and finally he said, “At least tell me what you
hope to find at the library at Chapel Hill.”
    Her mother was
silent for several seconds. “Fine, but I can’t tell you everything.” When her
father didn’t answer, her mother continued. “I think it might be the missing
artifacts from the Middleton collection.”
    “The collection
lost during the Civil War?”
    “Yes.” She paused.
“But I’m going to Chapel Hill to investigate a particular artifact. It was
given to me in good faith. I have a week to discover its significance. I didn’t
tell Steven I had it, only that I needed access to his papers.”
    “ They gave you an artifact ? ” His voice
rose, making Ellie jump. “What is it?”
    She didn’t
answer.
    “Amanda, I’m your
husband for god’s sake! Who am I going to tell?”
    Her voice
quivered. “I can’t tell anyone, John. Anyone.” She took a breath. “ Especially you.”
    “Why especially
me?”
    She didn’t answer
again.
    “Is it related to
the curse?”
    Her mother’s
temper exploded. “Goddamn that curse! You’ve devoted your entire life to a
bunch of hocus-pocus and nonsense. You have Ellie terrified to death that
something terrible will happen if she accidently tells someone.”
    “ Did she
tell someone?” He sounded panicked.
    Ellie’s heart
lurched in her chest. Oh, no . She had done
something bad.
    “ Will you listen
to yourself ? ” her mother shouted. “Your daughter
is living in fear because you’ve filled her head with frightening stories of
demons and