Page 65 of The Curse Breaker

In the light of the phone, their eyes found one another. “She kept it because she knows the only way I can get the final piece of treasure is to summon Lady Adrienne to get it.”

“Like her spirit?” Benny asked, confused. “You said she’s dead.”

“I’ve always believed she’s alive,” Kimble said hoarsely. “I have no proof, but in my dreams, she comes to me.”

“Explain,” Benny said, a chill going down her back.

It took Kimble a few moments to speak. “In sixteen twenty-five, when Grace and I were asked to find the treasure and did, we disagreed about what to do with it once we realized it was…cursed,” Kimble said slowly. “Grace didn’t care. Was…elated, actually. To use a good Scrabble word.”

“It’s only six points,” Benny argued, her heart seizing with fear.

“She said we should let Adrienne die and keep the treasure for ourselves. I was so irate, I sent one piece of eight to Adrienne and taunted Grace with the news almost two hundred years later. She was furious.”

“Do you know if she got it?” Benny asked, her heart falling when she thought of this one coin lost forever.

“I don’t. Nor do I know if she got it before she died. She was quite ill. The only way to know is to call her with that ring, and Grace has never taken it off,” Kimble said miserably. “That’s the piece I know for sure is missing though I suspect Evelyn later found one other one that I gave to Grace the night she... It doesn’t matter. This is why all Evelyn’s games are a waste of time! Without that ring, we will never be able to end this.”

“But you said—” Benny started to say, and he cut her off.

“I know what I said! I let myself believe we had a shot of ending this once we found you, but it’s hopeless without that piece of eight Lady Adriennne possessed. This is a fool’s errand!” He banged his hand against the back of the van, and Benny jumped. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Just let me do something right and get us out of this van.”

Benny’s heart was thumping wildly as she thought about the truth of what Kimble just said. If that coin was lost, if Adrienne never received it, if Evelyn hid another coin they didn’t know about yet, then there was no way to save Evelyn’s friends in time. Yes, they could leave the island, but they’d be immortal for eternity.

No. There has to be a way, Benny thought. Winners never quit. She tried to focus on the journal pages she still hadn’t read. Maybe there were answers here.

She read on, realizing the entries were out of order again. One was missing—the journal skipping to entry sixteen. Where was fifteen? What else was Evelyn hiding? Benny tried to focus on the information in the entry. Evelyn had a baby sister who died in infancy. Evelyn met Grace, who wanted help getting on the island, but when they went, the island refused entry. It doesn’t trust you. That’s what Evelyn said to Grace. Even with a coin, Grace couldn’t approach. Why? Evelyn, however, broke free and ran onto the sandbar, where she was reunited with—

Benny gasped. “Aggy.” The two best friends saw each other again! Benny’s eyes welled with tears. Not only that, Aggy assured her they could communicate through Winks even when the island disappeared. “Impossible,” she whispered to herself. And yet not. They already knew Winks was a cat that somehow lived two hundred years and traveled between worlds. They also knew Kimble spent time with the cat too. What else had Aggy and Evelyn corresponded about during Evelyn’s lifetime? Did they know about Adrienne’s whereabouts? Or the coin? Or coins if Evelyn got Grace’s back? Benny’s heart beat faster as she read about Aggy forcing Evelyn to go back to Greenport to face an angry Grace, who might have killed her if Kimble hadn’t arrived and—

“You gave up more treasure to save Evelyn,” Benny sputtered, her voice louder than intended. “All those years ago. You came back for her and saved her from Grace.”

Kimble turned; his face was ashen in the phone light. “Yes.”

Benny shoved the pages in her backpack’s interior pocket in case someone searched her bag. “Why did you help her after everything she did? How did you know her father? I want to know what I’m missing so I can end this!” Kimble remained quiet. She knew she sounded angry, but she was. “I’m more than a key,” she said, her voice cracking.

Kimble’s expression crumbled. “Kid, I—”

The van stopped suddenly, and the doors opened, flooding them with light. Benny blinked hard, trying to get her bearings as the men realized they were untied and lunged for them both, one knocking Kimble out cold again.

Grace peered around the corner of the van doors, Ryan behind her. “I told you he’d get loose.” She cocked her head at Benny. “Though I didn’t think you’d be free too. Benny dear, come with me. Time is wasting.”

Twenty-five

Benny

Benny felt numb from all she’d learned in the last few minutes. She tried to focus on her surroundings. They were back at the fisherman monument, angry storm clouds and lightning in the distance. In seconds, it started to rain. No one seemed to care.

Welcome, Everly Benedict! Welcome!

Benny paused. The island was near, so why couldn’t she see it? Was it the fog rolling in off the water? If she was reading Evelyn’s last journal correctly, this might be the spot she’d found a new entrance with Grace. Her heart started to pound now, her fingers tingling.

“Follow me.” Grace walked ahead, expecting Benny to follow, and Benny caught sight of the green ring on her finger.

“What do you want?” Benny demanded. She needed to get closer.

Grace turned and smiled. “Fiery. I like that. So much like Evelyn, it is uncanny.”

Benny shivered. “You already have the coin we were looking for, and I know you have two coins of your own unless Evelyn managed to later steal one back from you.” Grace lifted an eyebrow. “What do you need me or Kimble for?” Because you can’t get on the island without him or me.