Page 50 of The Curse Breakers

“How would I know?”

He didn’t answer.

“Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?”

“Any more ridiculous than a woman who seems completely sane telling me her life depends on finding out Ahone’s symbol?”

I pushed away from the desk and moved to the bookcase. I had more shelves to clear off. “We all have our little eccentricities. Especially those of us who live in small towns.”

“I told you I don’t know the symbol, but what if I told you that I might have a text that does?”

I twisted at the waist a little too eagerly.

“Is your life really in danger, Ellie?”

“Over the mark of a Croatan god?” I asked incredulously, turning back to the bookcase. “You yourself told me that the Croatan have been extinct for centuries.”

“So you don’t need the symbol?”

My hand froze mid-reach. Damn him. “I do.”

He shifted his weight, still perched on the edge of the desk. “Can it wait two weeks?”

I closed my eyes, resting my arm on the shelf. “No.”

“Can it wait two days?”

Could it? Ahone’s messenger had told me I had two or three days. At the moment, this seemed like my best hope.

“I own several texts that could possibly help, but I’ve loaned them to a friend in New York. I can get him to overnight them to me, but I still won’t get them for two days. I can even ask him to see if he can find the symbol and scan it.”

I turned to look at him. “You would do that? Why?”

“You said it was important. What kind of knight would I be if I let something happen to a damsel in distress?”

I’d been bullshitted before and look where that got me. “You had no qualms about letting me flounder in Chapel Hill. What changed?”

He straightened his posture and moved toward me. David Preston was not only intelligent and good looking, he was also built. He towered over me, and I could see muscles straining against his shirt. “You want the truth?”

I looked up into his hazel eyes. “Always.”

“Then how about we make a deal to only tell each other the truth.”

I hesitated.

“And if either one of us doesn’t feel comfortable sharing the truth, we can plead the fifth.”

I shook my head. “Why are you doing this? What’s in it for you?”

His mouth turned down in a frown. “Some wanker’s done a number on you, huh?”

“Wanker?” He had no idea. “Let’s just say I’ve been burned one time too many.”

“So at the risk of scaring you off, here’s the truth: I’m intrigued. First this attractive young woman shows up in my office looking for help and I turn her away. Then I go to see the biggest archaeological find in recorded history and not only is she there, but she’s at the center of this fascinating riddle that begs to be solved, holding pieces of information no one else knows. Have you heard the story of the Great Horned Serpent?”

This man’s conversation shifted from topic to topic enough to give me whiplash. Had I heard of Mishiginebig? He wanted the truth. “Not until a few days ago.”

“It has many names and crosses multiple tribes—the Algonquian, the Cherokee, the Cree. I heard three different people mention it today. Only not by name. They said someone saw a giant horned snake.”

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