This Place is Death (A Curse Keepers Secret) Read Online Free Page A

to the spirit world.”
    “The gate to heaven?” Ananias dared to ask.
    Manteo’s face darkened. “Popogusso.”
    Ananias recognized the word from what little Croatan the native had taught him.
    Hell .
    Ananias’s heart raced and he swiveled around, searching for the entrance. “But there’s nothing here. I see nothing.”
    “Do you see the wind, Ananias? Do you see the force that pulls all things to earth? Do you hear the One True God you English are so proud to claim? You neither see, nor hear, nor feel these things, yet you know they exist. The gate to hell is here. You may not feel it, but I do.”
    “Is this what you saw with Governor White?”
    “All nuppin know this place is hallowed, but I did not know its true significance until I performed my cleansing ceremony on this spot with the governor. The question is why this ceremony revealed the truth to me. Many ceremonies have been performed here, but to the best of my knowledge, no one before us saw what we saw. The only explanation I can come up with is that this was the first ceremony conducted with a nuppin and a tosh-shonte . Perhaps the participation of men from two worlds in a ceremony so sacred is what weakened the barrier and gave us a vision.”
    An Englishman and an Indian being together in this place had made Manteo aware that it was the gate to hell? It seemed preposterous until Ananias considered that Manteo was one of the most levelheaded people he knew. “What did you see?”
    “John White and I saw into the future.”
    Ananias’s breath caught, remembering the fear in Manteo’s eyes the week before, as well as his cryptic words. “And you saw death?”
    Manteo hesitated. “Kupi.” Yes . “The barrier between the worlds will break and evil from the depths of hell will spill upon the earth. From this place.”
    “When?”
    “I do not know.”
    Evil from the depths of hell. That could only mean demons. “Can we stop it?”
    “I do not know.” Manteo circled a small oak tree. “You must understand, gods and spirits already roam the earth. Just as you believe your One True God exists everywhere.”
    Your One True God. So Manteo didn’t really believe in the English God, after all. Well, that was the least of Ananias’s worries. What Manteo claimed sounded crazy, but what was crazier was that Ananias believed him.
    “What about demons?” he asked.
    Manteo’s gaze found Ananias’s. “Some roam the earth. Most are locked away. Like in your own beliefs. Our gods are not so different.”
    Ananias bristled. “There are no gods , Manteo. Only one God.”
    “There is Ahone, our creator god, just like your One True God. He created the world and all life on it. Okeus is the other half of Ahone, our Satan. Our wind gods are what you call archangels.” Manteo stopped in front of him. “Our spirit worlds are the same, Ananias. We only call them different names.”
    What Manteo said made sense, but it went against everything Ananias had ever been taught. Never mind their names, Ananias had to make sure his family was safe. “And you saw the demons escape? If we went to your island down the coast, would my wife and daughter be safe from this danger?”
    “No. Once the demons escape, I think there will be a dormant period while they acclimate to our world, and then they will spread to the four corners of the earth.”
    Ananias took a deep breath. “And John White saw this vision too?” Maybe John had been trying to soothe Ananias’s fears when he called what he and Manteo had experienced a dream. If he had seen the invasion of spirits into the world, then he would want to warn the queen. Perhaps that was the real reason he had chosen to return to England.
    “Yes, but I do not know if his vision was the same as mine. We all see different things. We all have our own unique gifts from the Manitou.”
    “What is this Manitou? An evil spirit?”
    “No it is the life force that gives a soul to all living things. Like your Holy