This Place is Death (A Curse Keepers Secret) Read online

  Soon after daybreak, someone shouted. Ananias roused from his slumber, disoriented.

  “They’re back!” came the call.

  Their early return was a bad portent.

  After quickly dressing, Ananias went to the center of the village to greet the men, not surprised to see a crowd had already assembled.

  “Are we safe, Governor?”

  John nodded with tired eyes. “Aye, for now.”

  The other men took the governor’s words to mean something good, but Ananias saw the fear in Manteo’s eyes. It spooked him. Never in the year that he’d known the native had Ananias seen him worried or scared.

  “So what’s our plan?” one of the men asked.

  John’s gaze swept over the crowd assembled before him. “For now, nothing. I must think upon it more.” Without another word, he disappeared into his hut, leaving the crowd of men behind. They instantly turned toward Manteo.

  The men feared the native too much to ask him direct questions, but Ananias wasn’t afraid to corner his friend. When Manteo walked away from the others, Ananias followed him to the edge of the camp, where he kept his home.

  “Manteo, what did you find?”

  Manteo shook his head and entered his hut.

  Propriety forced Ananias to seek permission before entering another man’s dwelling, but he was past the point of such empty formalities. He followed Manteo inside. “Manteo, what did you find?”

  The native squatted by the back wall. “A place of death.”

  Ananias’s heart lurched and he choked out, “What does that mean? Are the Pomeiooc Indians joining with the Roanoke to attack us?”

  Manteo gave a sharp jerk to his head. “No, they are not our concern at the moment.”

  “Then what is?”

  “Something bigger.”

  Ananias’s breath caught. “What does that mean?”

  Looking up into his eyes, Manteo said, “You should leave this place, my friend.”

  Ananias’s mouth dried, and he swallowed. “Are you leaving?”

  Manteo continued to stare for several uncomfortable seconds, his face hardening. “I have vowed to protect your people, and Governor White refuses to flee. Since I cannot break my vow, I am bound to stay.” He paused. “But I’ve seen something terrible, something beyond your imagination.”

  “The savages?” Ananias choked out. “Will they massacre us all?”

  Manteo sucked in a deep breath. “What I saw will make you wish the Roanoke would be merciful and end your life before the evil I saw is released. You must take your family and go back to England.”

  Terror flooded Ananias’s body. “And you will not leave in the face of such danger?”

  Manteo’s jaw hardened. “I am bound by my word to stay.”

  Ananias spun and left the hut for his father-in-law’s home. Again, he defied propriety and forced his way in, finding the governor at a small writing table, his head in his hands.

  “We must leave this place at once,” Ananias said with more strength than he felt.

  “Where is this coming from? I specifically said we are safe for now.”

  “But you and I both know that we are not. I went and saw Manteo. If we are safe, then why does such a fierce warrior look so frightened?”

  John took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

  “We must leave.”

  His father-in-law twisted his head to stare up at him. “And how will we manage that?”

  “Get back on the ship and return to England.”

  John stood, then grabbed his pitcher and poured water into a pewter cup. His eyes hardened as he raised the cup to his mouth. “And how do we do that, Ananias?”

  Ananias’s anger rose above his fear. “Captain Fernandez’s ships are still anchored off the coast, Governor, and his repairs are nearly completed. We load everyone back on and go.”

  John took a long drink, banging the cup on his desk. “Do you have the silver to pay for one hundred and seventeen passengers, Ananias? Soon to be one hundred and eighteen when Margery Harvie has her babe any day now. Who is going to pay? Captain Fernandez refused to even take us to our original destination. He’s certainly not willing to return us all to England.”

  The younger man’s heart fluttered with desperation. “Surely the queen will reimburse the ship’s captain. Her citizens’ lives are at risk.”

  “I took you for a foolish man, son-in-law, but I never thought you to be this daft.” He shook his head with a sneer. “You know that while the queen wishes the New World to be colonized, she refuses to pay. And our benefactor, Sir Raleigh, will never approve. If I were to bring everyone back…” John sighed. “We have no choice in the matter. We must stay.”

  “And face certain death?” Ananias’s voice rose to a disrespectful level. “You would sentence your daughter and granddaughter to that?”

  “Your emotions are getting away from you, bricklayer.”

  Bricklayer. What Ananias would give to return to his simple life of bricklaying in England. After all the heat and danger he’d faced in his short time in Virginia, he’d never again complain about the damp and cold English winters. “Manteo saw something out there that he claims is a worse threat than the natives. If that’s true, we need to take action.”

  “Manteo betrayed me by saying anything to you. He had a dream, Ananias. Nothing more. He was shaken by it, but as every civilized man knows, dreams mean nothing. Now you will keep this to yourself and tell no one. We will not rile the colony over a phantasm.”

  “And did you see anything?”

  John’s hand trembled as he stalled and took another drink. “It was only a dream… most likely a hallucination induced by the ceremonial tea. As I said, it meant nothing.”

  “How could you share the same dream? Doesn’t that mean something?”

  “It means you are a coward.” His eyes pierced Ananias’s. “You will keep this to yourself. Have I made myself clear?”

  Ananias gritted his teeth, refusing to agree, even though he knew he would. He would never upset his wife by crossing the governor.

  “There is no certain death that awaits us. Only more conflict with the Indians, especially since Manteo and I never made it to Pomeiooc.” The elder man sat at the table, picking up his quill pen and grabbing a sheet of paper. “Now leave me.”

  Ananias left his father-in-law, anger burning in his chest. When he returned home and expressed his concerns to his wife, she took her father’s side, as she always did.

  “Did you not feel the evil slide through our camp last night, Ellie? Something happened. I know it.”

  Fear filled her eyes then quickly faded. “Father told you it was a dream, Ananias, and he was right. That was all that happened to me as well.”

  Ananias’s eyes widened. More dreams. “What did you see?”

  She shook her head and looked toward the baby sleeping in the makeshift cradle. “Nothing. I saw nothing.” She turned her gaze toward her husband, irritation covering her face. “If Father says we’re safe, we’re safe. You’ve only been in this new land less than a couple of fortnights. Father has been here on two previous voyages.”

  While Ananias’s fear sprung from little more than a feeling, three people close to him had had disturbing dreams that they refused to share. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Ellie, please I beg you. Tell me what you saw.”

  Her irritation fell away and she took his hands in hers. “I would tell you if I could remember, Ani, I swear. But all memory of the dream is gone and all that remains is fear. But if Father says it’s nothing to worry about, I’m sure we are fine.”

  The baby mewled and Ananias bent over to scoop her up, holding her to his chest. “Manteo believes differently.”

  She shook her head with a sigh. “I do not understand your friendship with that savage. He’s the only danger I see in our colony. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up slaying half of us in our sleep someday.”

  “Manteo is our friend.”
>
  “No savage can ever be trusted, Ananias. Remember this well.”

  “He is a Christian man now, Ellie. He was baptized.”

  She took the baby from his arms. “He will always be a savage first. Always.”

  The next days passed with little incident other than the anxiety and fear that was still draped over the colony, setting everyone on edge. Many people had experienced dreams the night that John and Manteo had been gone, but no one remembered the details… except perhaps the governor and the native. Still, Manteo and Ananias had obeyed orders by keeping their fears and concerns to themselves.

  In pubic, John insisted the village was in no danger and that the men on the night watch had let their imaginations get the better of them. He still insisted to Ananias that Manteo had been unnecessarily spooked in the woods and that anything the two men had seen was not real. The way John wrung his hands when he spoke made Ananias wonder who John was actually trying to convince.

  Despite John’s assurances, rumors of evil spirits had begun to spread throughout the colony.

  None of the angry tribes had shown any sign of attack, adding to the sense of foreboding. John insisted that the longer they waited, the greater the odds they wouldn’t retaliate.

  Not even the baptism of Virginia Elinor Dare, the first English colonist born in the New World, could lift the settlers’ spirits for long.

  Especially those of John White.

  But despite John’s insistence that all was well, he took long walks into the woods, often accompanied by Manteo, which only added to the villagers’ collective unease. When questioned, he said they were strategizing how to increase their supplies for the winter, possibly seeking the aid of natives who were still sympathetic to their plight.

  Nine days after Virginia’s birth, a boat came ashore from Captain Fernandez’s ship, and a sailor requested that the governor come aboard, ending weeks of no contact with the captain. Ananias watched his father-in-law’s small boat row out to the larger ship, dread churning the breakfast in his belly.

  When John White came back an hour later, he brought the news many had expected. The ships were returning to Europe. The colonists would soon be on their own.

  “All assistants need to assemble for a meeting after the evening meal,” the governor said after his announcement. “We have several matters to discuss.”

  At supper, Ananias had a hard time choking down his fish while he watched Elinor nurse Virginia. Could he stand on the shore and watch the ship captain, the one man with the power to save his child, sail away and abandon them? Could he really stand back and do nothing?

  He wasn’t the only one who was worried—the ten other assistants seemed just as anxious.

  Before the voyage from England, twelve of the men had been appointed as assistants, their purpose to help John White govern the new land. Their number had been reduced to eleven after George Howe’s murder, and John had yet to assign a new member. When John called the meeting of the assistants to order, many offered protests, demanding they be allowed to return to England, which drew the governor’s anger.

  “Did you expect to come to a land of milk and honey? Did you expect manna to fall from the sky?” he asked.

  “We were promised a land of riches!” one of the men shouted.

  “You were promised the chance for a better life,” John White countered. “No more, no less.”

  “We are risking our families’ lives!” another yelled.

  John narrowed his eyes, swinging his gaze around the group. “Every one of you knew what you were signing up for. You knew the danger and you knew the risk. I brought my own daughter, who was with child, no less. Do you think I would risk the life of the most precious thing in my life if I didn’t believe in this land?” He shook his head in disgust. “We may not be in our predetermined destination, but this is a good settlement for you for now.”

  Something in his voice caught Ananias’s attention. “For us?”

  John turned his gaze upon his son-in-law. “Until I return.”

  The men became more agitated, but the governor settled them down and continued. “I will return to England with Fernandez and come back to you in the spring with more supplies and, if the queen is willing, an army.”

  “We are supposed to stay here and wait for you to return?” Ananias’s friend, Roger Prat, asked in disgust.

  John moved closer to the man and lowered his voice. “Roger, you have brought your son to this new land, and my own daughter and granddaughter are here, so I of all people understand your concern.” He placed his hand on Roger’s shoulder. “But I am leaving my family with you. Is that the act of a worried man? No, it’s the act of a man who believes in making this place a home for our children and our children’s children, free from religious persecution. Put your trust in God and have faith.”

  “Go Governor!” one of the men shouted. “Bring supplies and more men so we can defend ourselves against the savages!”

  The crowd took up the cheer, their worries seemingly assuaged.

  Ananias did not join in. John’s decision angered him, particularly the way he was using Ellie and Virginia as bargaining chips to gain support. He weighed the threat of losing his temper with the cost of missing the rest of the discussion. Walking away won out. He stood no chance of changing the governor’s mind.

  Ananias strode away from the group, heading for the trees. He wasn’t surprised to see Manteo at the edge of the woods, a stoic expression on his face.

  “You knew?” Ananias challenged. “You knew he was leaving, and you didn’t tell me. Do you condone his decision?”

  The native nodded. “Aye.”

  “But he’s leaving without bringing my wife and child to safety!”

  “And what about my own wife and children, Ananias Dare? Over fourteen seasons have passed and I have yet to see them. I have traveled the great sea four times and returned to the land of my birth twice, yet I still have not seen my family in all that time.”

  Ananias’s mouth dropped. “You never told me you had children.”

  “There is much you do not know.” Manteo took a step into the woods.

  “What do I not know?”

  Manteo moved deeper into the shadows. “Follow me, and I will show you.”

  Anxiety crawled down Ananias’s back, but his need for answers outweighed his fear. “All right.”

  They traveled deep into the woods, Manteo paving the way through the dark forest by what little moonlight filtered through the leaves overhead. Ananias stumbled several times, but Manteo neither commented nor waited for him to regain his footing. He simply trudged on in silence.

  Ananias was used to Manteo’s silence. Sometimes he wondered if that was why he liked the native so well. Manteo demanded little conversation from him; in fact, he demanded little of anything. It was a welcome relief when he was accustomed to being around others who demanded so much.

  Finally, Manteo stopped. “This is the place.”

  Ananias’s foot got caught in a root and he nearly fell. “This is your place of death?” The only threat of death he saw was the possibility of breaking one’s neck.

  “You have eyes but you do not see. Ears but you do not hear. You are in the presence of the spirit realm, yet you remain ignorant.”

  Ananias shook his head. “What does that mean?”

  “You are standing at the gate 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.”