Page 64 of The Curse Breaker

Grace leaned in close to Ryan. “No one asked for your opinion, child. Watch them while I call your grandmother and tell her to meet us at the beach.”

Beach. Had Grace found a way onto the island?

“I promise I won’t let them hurt you,” Ryan told her, swallowing hard. “Just do whatever Grace says, and everything will be okay.”

Benny glared at him. “Leave it to you to believe her. She’s a pirate, Ryan. Be smart. You don’t think she’ll use you the way she does everyone else?” She glanced back at Kimble lying on the bench in the back of the van. Wake up, wake up, wake up.

Ryan looked frightened. “You should know something I heard: Grace say she can’t get onto the island without you.”

That doesn’t make sense. One of the men pushed Ryan out of the way before he could say more. They shut the van doors, plunging Benny into darkness. Benny tried to shimmy to the back of the van. Without her hands, it was harder, but she nudged Kimble with her foot. “Kimble? Wake up!”

He groaned just as the van rumbled to life. “That was some punch.”

He was awake! “Kimble—” Dad, her mind betrayed her. “Grace has the treasure. She’s taking us to the beach.”

“Beach?” She heard him sit up. “Turn toward me and let me get the ties off you first.”

“How are you—” Snap! To her surprise, Kimble had untied her. “How did you?”

“Find something—anything—you can use to clock those fools in the head when the doors open. If I can’t pick this lock so we can jump out, that’s our plan B.”

“I—” Yes, rescue first. Talk about parental relationships later. Still, she felt strange. He had to feel it too.

She heard him fiddling with the lock. “Blasted lock is on the outside!” he growled. “Maybe I can pry it off.” She heard what sounded like a small saw.

“Let me help you,” she tried. “Zara gave me this tool that—”

“Kid! Just let me do this myself!”

Kid. Key. She sat back defeated. That’s all she was to him. A stranger, despite what they both now knew. She felt her heart harden. Fine. She didn’t need a dad, did she? Mom was enough. She herself was enough. Grams always told her she was stronger than she realized, and Benny knew that now. She didn’t need Kimble—Dad—to see that. Benny pressed her fingers into her skirt and felt Evelyn’s pages hidden in the pocket.

The van hit a speed bump, and Benny fell forward, her phone sliding out of her pocket. That gave her an idea. She could use the light to read the journal! For all she knew, there could be a letter from Evelyn inside. Something that could help them beat Grace. She reached for the phone, fumbling as it slid farther away. She tapped the screen for the flashlight, and it lit up the van.

“What the?” Kimble turned around, blinded.

“You focus on the lock and I’ll do what I need to do,” Benny said stonily. She pulled the pages out of her pocket. He looked at her for a moment, then went back to work.

Benny began to read. There were three new diary entries. One was from earlier in Evelyn’s diary again—one of the entries missing in the first game. It involved Evelyn having a dream about…Lady Adrienne? Benny’s heart thumped hard. It was a dream, yet it felt real, and the ring she described sounded very familiar. Was that the one she saw Grace wearing? The same one Evelyn described in her pages about Charlotte? Without realizing it, she spoke aloud. “It’s not possible.”

“What?” Kimble asked, still trying to pry the locks.

Benny bristled. “Nothing.”

“Kid…speak,” Kimble said wearily. “Please.”

“Were you supposed to let Lady Adrienne know you found the treasure using a ring? One with a green gem?” Benny knew it sounded ludicrous.

Kimble dropped whatever he was using and clasped a hand on her arm. He looked haunted. “How do you know that?”

“Evelyn,” Benny told him. “She wrote about a dream she had with Lady Adrienne. She said the queen told her if she had the ring and said a certain phrase, Adrienne would know where to find you and the treasure.”

Kimble’s voice sounded hollow as he said the words aloud: “Se é um tesouro que você procura, navegue esta semana.”

“If it is treasure you seek, sail this week,” Benny translated. “Grace has that ring. I’ve seen it on her. If Adrienne is dead, why would she keep it?”

He was quiet.

“Kimble! Explain!” Benny insisted.