Dae's Christmas Past (28 page)

I did as she suggested with renewed energy and hope inside me. I planned to go back again to see my grandmother and my mother too, if possible. I’d limit the trips and try to go back before the time I was at today. Maybe I could see my mother as a child. The idea was exciting, and the danger seemed trivial.

The shower felt great. I ran a brush through my damp hair and then pulled on jeans and a green sweater. My boots were still covered in mud and sand from Corolla. Still feeling a twinge of that terrible darkness that had been inside me, I let them stay where they were and put on my tennis shoes.

I couldn’t wait to get to Missing Pieces and find out how the Christmas decorating was going around Duck.

Kevin, Gramps, and Jake were impatiently waiting downstairs. I hugged all three of them, despite daggered looks from Kevin. Jake was still my friend. I wouldn’t let my engagement to Kevin change that.

It was between breakfast and lunch, but I ate some chicken soup that Mary Catherine had found frozen in the freezer. Gramps had made too much the last time. It was a good thing that everyone else had already eaten.

“Coffee?” she asked me.

“That sounds great, thanks. But you don’t have to wait on me. You’re our guest.”

As I finished eating, the three men joined me at the table.

Gramps was getting around much better. It seemed he’d make a full recovery quickly. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine. I guess I was just exhausted after everything that happened.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kevin asked.

“No. Not yet.” I smiled to reassure him. “I’m all right. Has anything else happened since that night?”

Gramps, Kevin, and my two friends glanced at each other as if they were uncertain if they should tell me something.

“It’s okay. You can tell me,” I assured them.

“The police haven’t been able to find Duran,” Kevin said. “They have everyone out looking for him. They had to let his followers go, but I figure without him, they don’t know how to summon the demon horses anyway.”

That put a dent in my happy mood. “But they have the big horse secured, right? They can’t get to it, can they?”

“They have sheriff’s deputies on duty twenty-four/seven,” Gramps said. “You don’t have to worry about that, Dae.”

“There’s nothing the police can do about what happened to Tom or Dr. Sheffield, is there?” That sense of mourning and darkness filtered into me again. I couldn’t change what had happened.

“I don’t think so,” Gramps answered. “But I don’t want you to dwell on it, honey. You get better. Tend to your shop. Leave the rest of this to the police.”

I wished it were that easy.

“We have another problem,” Jake said in his ironic voice. “The state wants to send in other archeologists to resume the excavation of the property. I told them no. They said my land could be forfeit to them if I don’t agree to let them do what they want.”

I stared into his eyes. “We can’t let them do that.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“Horace is right, Dae,” Kevin said. “You shouldn’t worry about this. You did your part. You won’t believe all the Christmas decorations that have gone up. It’s like Santa dumped Christmas all over Duck. Why don’t we take a look?”

He was trying to distract me. I let him. There wasn’t anything I could do about finding Duran or about the state wanting to dig around on Jake’s property again. Kevin had his golf cart there, but I insisted on walking to the Duck Shoppes.

There was an icy breeze coming from the Atlantic. It had lightly frozen anything that had been outside from plants to outdoor furniture and cars. The crystal glaze covered everything and added a festive look to the town decorations.

All the metal horse statues that commemorated our heritage were dressed for the holidays with red Santa caps and warm plaid blankets over their backs. Some were even wearing holly behind their ears.

All the shops were decked out for the contest. Some had followed the lead of Wild Stallions and gone crazy with decorations and lights. Game World had a huge lighted display of Santa and his reindeer. Most had stuck with more traditional decorations—beautiful wreaths, holly, and mistletoe.

There were pine trees, real and artificial, stuck in the most unlikely places around town. The surf shop had both a lighted tree, and a Santa on a surfboard. Santa was wearing a Duck T-shirt and shorts. The coffee shop and bookstore was festooned with red bunting that covered the whole building. The rental company that owned the Duck Shoppes had also hung ribbons and garland along the boardwalk.

“At night, the whole place glows,” Kevin said as we walked hand-in-hand into the Duck Shoppes parking lot. “Wait until you see it.”

“What did you decide to do about the Blue Whale?”

“I’m saving that for a surprise when you come to dinner tonight.” He kissed me lightly, and put his arms around me. “It’s good to have you back. I was terrified you wouldn’t wake up.”

“I could’ve been back sooner,” I admitted. “I visited my grandmother again. My mother was there too. I stayed longer than I should have. It was hard to leave. My mother was pregnant with me, Kevin.”

He took a deep breath of the salty cold air. “I don’t know anything about actually travelling back in history, but I’m sure there are some limitations and guidelines. I know you’ve missed your mother. Just be careful.”

“My grandmother said the same thing. I won’t randomly go back, I guess. But it made me feel better being there with them. I can’t describe everything I saw when I touched the big horse. But I never want to see or feel anything like that again.”

We walked to the boardwalk. There was ice covering the Currituck Sound. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you do it,” he said

“You couldn’t have stopped me,” I told him. “It was what I needed to do to push the demon horses back into the fire. There was no other way.”

“Let’s work on alternatives for the next time there seems to be no other way, huh? A good plan can keep you from going through anything like that again.”

He hugged me again, and I stared out at the sound. There were no boats out today. The wind was blowing hard and steady, pushing at the frozen boardwalk where we stood.

“It’s good to see you, Mayor O’Donnell,” August Grandin said as he walked by. “That boating accident that killed those three young men right out here on the sound could have been prevented. I hope you’ll bring in some safety experts for the future. We don’t want to get that kind of reputation.”

He nodded, and went on his way. I was stunned by the boating accident. We had never had that kind of tragedy since I’d been mayor. I wondered what had caused it.

“Sorry. You were supposed to be looking at the decorations,” Kevin reminded me.

“That’s okay. But I think I’d like to stop at town hall.”

“Dae, let it go for now. It’s the holiday season. Get in the spirit.”

I knew I wouldn’t forget what August had said even though Kevin bought me a white mocha at the coffee shop, and we had a chance to see Phil playing Santa for some school kids from Duck Elementary.

I walked back to my house with him when he got a call from his assistant at the Blue Whale. I didn’t go with him since he was a surprise for that night. It gave me an opportunity to catch up on what was happening in Duck.

Mary Catherine went with me. Gramps was at his weekly pinochle game. I didn’t feel as though she were trying to keep an eye on me—more saving herself from a boring afternoon.

Jake had driven to Raleigh to discuss closing the excavation instead of re-opening it. He called when he was on the road. “I don’t know if I have a chance of persuading them that it’s a mistake. But I have to try.”

“Thanks. I hope you can convince them to leave it alone.”

“There’s only one other alternative if they don’t agree,” he drawled. “We both know what that is, right?”

“Try your best to convince them,” I said. “If you can’t, we’ll do what we have to.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Good luck.”

Mary Catherine and I had reached the boardwalk as I pushed ‘end’ on the call.

“Trouble?” she asked.

“I hope not.” I filled her in on Jake’s trip to the capital. “It was what he tried to do to begin with. He couldn’t do it then. I don’t know if anything has changed now.”

We walked into town hall to have Nancy bring me up to speed on everything that had happened while I’d been asleep. Instead we walked right into another crisis.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her and Chris Slayton as they manned the phones.

“There’s been an accident,” Chris said. “An electrician wiring Christmas lights was injured. We’re trying to find a helicopter to transport him.”

I faced Mary Catherine, and though I could see the answer in her clear blue eyes, I asked the question anyway. “It’s not over yet, is it?

“No,” she answered. “I’m afraid not, Dae.”

Cailey Fargo came in, grim faced, wearing what I thought of as her battle gear. It was plain black pants and a shirt with the Duck Volunteer Fire Department emblem on it. Her face was smudged, and her hair was wild. “Any luck yet with that helicopter?” she demanded.

“I think I’ve got one,” Nancy said. “He can be here in ten minutes.”

“Good enough.” She nodded. “The emergency services people say he needs the hospital in less time than they can get him there driving. He stopped breathing after the electrocution, but he’s breathing again and his heart rate is finally steady.”

Nancy finished her conversation with the helicopter pilot. “I told him to set down in Duck Park. I think that’s the closest place we can find.”

“I’ll make sure he’s there.” Cailey nodded at me before she left. “Mayor.”

“Are you feeling better, Dae?” Nancy asked as Chris sank down in an office chair and put his head in his hands.

“Yes. Thanks. Sorry it had to happen at such a bad time.”

“It’s like we’re cursed,” Chris said. “I keep thinking what else can go wrong. It’s been ever since those horses started coming through at night. I know it doesn’t have anything to do with it, but it’s like I can feel something left behind of them.”

It seemed he was arguing with himself, and he finally got up again. “I’m going to see Jamie and eat lunch. You want something?”

“I’ll take a roast beef sandwich if you’re going near Duck Deli,” Nancy said. “Dae? Mary Catherine?”

“We’re fine, thanks Chris.” He knew about my gift but only on the most basic level. I’d found his car keys once in a trash can by holding his hands.

I wished I could tell him the truth about the demon horses, but I wasn’t even sure what that was now. If the cult members couldn’t get to the big horse, why did I still feel that something was wrong?

“See you later, Dae.”

We watched him leave, and I sat in the chair he’d left, talking to Nancy. “What happened to the men who drowned?”

Her pretty face was sad when she explained. “It was just one of those dumb accidents, like today with the electrician. Except that it seems to be happening every day. I think it’s the curse. You know, the one Rafe Masterson put on Duck when he was hanged for piracy.”

“Is that something that happened recently?” Mary Catherine asked.

“No. About four hundred years ago,” I said. “He cursed Duck. I can’t believe you lived here for any length of time and didn’t hear about the curse.”

“Maybe it was during one of the good times,” Nancy said. “I’m not from Duck, but I’ve seen enough to believe it. This town is definitely cursed.”

“Can’t you get a priest or something?” Mary Catherine asked.

“I think they’ve tried that. Everyone knows about the curse. Maybe that’s part of the problem,” I said.

“Well, I don’t know about that.” Nancy got up and paced the floor. “All I know is that this town is falling apart. We have to do something.”

“What did you have in mind?” I asked her.

“I don’t know. Maybe we could get a bunch of sage and smudge the whole town,” Nancy suggested. “It can’t hurt. My cousin is a witch, and she swears by sage.”

“I’m in,” Mary Catherine agreed. “Where do we get the sage?”

“Shayla probably left some in her shop,” I told her. “You have the key, right?”

“I do—somewhere. I’m sure I can find it. What a marvelous idea.”

We left Nancy at town hall, and went to Shayla’s shop next to mine on the boardwalk. Mary Catherine had the key in her pocket. We went inside—it was dark and very quiet. I missed Shayla. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but it was lonely without her.

“You were right,” Mary Catherine picked up several bunches of dried sage held together by green ribbons. “How much do you think is enough?”

“Let’s just take it all, and I’ll buy more for Shayla later.”

We took it down to Nancy, who was on the phone with her cousin the witch, trying to convince her to come to Duck and help us.

Nancy would get in touch with me when she had an answer from her cousin. Mary Catherine and I went to Missing Pieces, and opened the shop. There wouldn’t be much traffic in this weather, but while I was there, I might as well try to sell a few things.

“I’ve been in colder places,” Mary Catherine said with a shiver. “But this is unnatural cold. I feel like I can’t get warm. All the animals are feeling it too. I hope sage is the answer.”