Page 33 of The Curse Breaker

That realization wasn’t lost on Benny.

“There’s more.” Zara’s smile was part grimace. “The treasure Kimble and Grace stole? It was meant to go to a pirate queen known as Lady Adrienne. Adrienne hired them to find the treasure.” Her eyes flashed. “And when they didn’t return with it? She vowed revenge. Even if it was from the grave.”

Entry 13

From Evelyn Terry’s Private Journal, Dated June 11, 1825

When I awoke the next morning, I remembered my conversation with Charlotte like it was a dream I’d wished into reality. Today we would find a way onto the island together.

I rushed through my chores before Papa was up, then ran to the Cuthbert farm. Charlotte was waiting at the gate. She was wearing the dress that looked like Mama’s—but today her red hair was loose, blowing in the breeze.

“Hello,” I said, stopping short and shielding my eyes. There was no sun, but the cloudy sky was bright, the air still and sticky. “I wasn’t expecting you to be outside.”

She offered me her arm and led me away. “I didn’t want to waste time. My husband is fixing our porch while Valerie sleeps, so I slipped away.”

“Valerie? I thought her name was Virgina?” I said, confused.

“It’s Valerie,” Charlotte confirmed. “Let’s get on this island!” She was like a kid, pulling me along down the path. “It has been calling me back for so long.”

Back? The hair on my arms prickled.

“Tell me where you were standing when you first heard it, and don’t leave out a detail,” Charlotte squeezed my hand. “Let’s start there and see if it appears. If not, we’ll walk along the water’s edge till a new entrance appears.”

“What makes you think it will?” I asked anxiously.

Charlotte looked straight ahead, her smile revealing a dimple in her cheek. “I just know. Now come on. I don’t have all day, and neither do you.”

I laughed at her bossiness. We rushed to the shore.

“See anything?” Charlotte asked.

I shook my head disappointedly. “What about you?”

Charlotte looked out at the water, the breeze making her skirt lift, revealing battered brown boots. They were worn, the laces up to her knees. They were unlike any boots I had ever seen. “I always can. I just can’t find a way on,” Charlotte said, her voice somber, as thunder rumbled in the distance. “Let’s keep walking. Until the weather turns, we can find it. I have a good feeling.”

“Aggy spoke like that,” I said following her footsteps. “She had the gift of sight.”

“Did she now?” Charlotte’s voice carried on the wind. “And she didn’t see this happening? You unable to get back on the island when she was trapped?”

She did, I realized. That was what Aggy had been trying to tell me. For some reason I kept this from Charlotte.

“Maybe she wanted to keep the treasure for herself,” Charlotte said suddenly.

“Aggy wouldn’t do that,” I insisted. “I think she knew what would happen when she took a coin, but she also seemed to know this was the only way I could save her and our friends.”

“Maybe you don’t know her as well as you think you do.” Charlotte turned, walking backward. “If there really is a treasure on this island, one that could keep a person from growing old and allow them to live forever, why would anyone share it?” She smirked. “Unless they were savvy and wanted to sell coins to the wealthy. I bet there are hundreds of coins in that chest. If we sold every last one, well, we’d be richer than President Madison!”

I frowned. “You mean President John Adams. He took over in March.”

She smacked her forehead. “Adams. Yes. You know what I mean, don’t you?” She reached for my hands again and spun me around as the sky darkened. I could see rain over the water where the island should be. “If we found that treasure, think of what we could do with it.” Her eyes flashed. “We could leave this place. We’d travel so far away no one would find us, and then we’d carefully spread word of a treasure that could make the ill well. That would allow you to live forever.” She looked at me. “Can you imagine? Living beyond our lifetime? Seeing what this world will become? Staying young and beautiful forever?”

I shivered. “Some would say staying the same age forever is a curse. Kimble said—”

“Oh, Kimble!” Charlotte let go of my hands in a huff. “That man sounds infuriating! He gets to live forever, but no one else should?”

“He doesn’t want to live forever. He wanted to find the lost pieces so that he could break the curse,” I said, wondering if I’d forgotten to mention that part. “But I double-crossed him and ruined his plan.”

“Unlikely. There is only one way to get the final piece of treasure, I reckon, and I suspect he won’t want to do it.”