Page 72 of Don't Call Me Daddy
“As the story goes, he marked her with the tip of his wing on the inside of her thigh. He carved out a gash, shaped like a crescent moon, which was rumored to have never quite healed completely and would start to throb the closer she was to him.
“Then, he was gone. The cavern air cleared of the rotting stench, and the other miners began to stir awake. The woman found her head had cleared of the fog and was able to find her way out of the cavern with ease.
“That night, she found her husband sitting up in bed, awake. It was as if he’d been magically healed. Although she was terrified, she knew she’d been blessed by the Phantom and soon began telling the story of her encounter to anyone who’d listen.
“They called her a fool.
“She became the laughingstock of the town, but she never stopped telling her story, never stopped pushing for change.
“As the weeks passed, she began to dream of the Phantom, as if he were reminding her of the ticking clock before his return. She was haunted by nightmares of explosions, seeing the people she knew and loved blasted into oblivion every single night and knowing there was nothing she could do.
“Despite her warnings, there was no change with the mining; in fact, they increased their production, adding more crewsthan ever. People were growing sicker by the day, and the land was barren of nutrients, making them solely dependent on the processed food they could buy from the few grocers that were left.
“Before she knew it, her time was up, and she was terrified to see his threat come to life. She intended on pleading with the Phantom to change his mind; it was her only hope. So, on the six-month anniversary of her sighting, she snuck away in the night, not even telling her husband where she was going, for fear that he’d stop her—or worse, follow her and get himself killed.
“When she arrived at the cavern, she called for him to show himself. And just like the time before, the air turned cold, and the sickly smell that she’d committed to memory returned. The Phantom appeared before her, even larger than she remembered, and when he spoke, he wasn’t pleased.
“He cast a curse on her and all her descendants for the next one hundred years, holding them responsible for the damage being done to the land. As the story goes, the curse would bring bad luck to those who poisoned the sacred ground where they stood.
“But should they choose to turn from their ways and heal the land, great luck and fortune would rain upon them with blessings and abundance.
“He warned her that because of the continuous harm they caused to the land, destruction would follow when they least expected it and made her mute for the next year as a punishment for failing.
“The woman ran home, horrified by her inability to tell anyone what had happened, and waited as the dreams and visions visited her night after night.
“And then, one beautiful summer day, not much different from this, they filed into the mines, where a massive explosion took the lives of sixty-three men and injured hundreds of others.
“Her voice returned the very same day… though, by then, it was too late.
“That woman was our great-great-grandmother and the founding member of Ashford Falls.”
“Wow, that’s sort of a buzzkill. So, why exactly is there a festival to celebrate this Phantom?” I ask, breaking through the tension in the air.
The brothers all share a look before Leo finally speaks. “We, uh … it’s more of an appreciation for what he represents rather than celebrating him. The part my brother failed to mention was that in the years that followed, most of the original town members died from illnesses caused by the mines. It wasn’t until our grandparents closed the mines completely that things started to improve.”
“And our luck,” Luka adds.
“Uh-huh. So, is that why your family started an eco-friendly company? You wanted to break the curse?”
Leo scratches the stubble on his chin and considers me for a moment. “Curses aren’t real, Ivy, but it was still the right thing to do.”
“And look at us now. We’re wealthy, healthy, and so is everyone else who lives here. I don’t need any other proof than that,” Guy chimes in.
“Well, cheers to creepy monsters and breaking curses, I guess!” I hold up my cup in a toast, and we clank our biodegradable cups together.
Suddenly, this man in front of me is starting to make a hell of a lot more sense.
“Now that I’m officially spooked … who’s up for a little fun?”
“Hell yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. What do you have in mind?” Guy says as he high-fives Luka and Roman.
Leo tightens his grip around my thigh. “Ivy, what are you doing?”
But I ignore him. “I thought we could play a little drinking game …”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ivy
