The Curse Keepers (Curse Keepers series) by Denise Grover Swank Page A

Bob, the manager of the Kitty Hawk Kites store across the street, burst in the door.
    “They found it! Flip on the news! They found it!”
    Everyone turned toward him and stared. Bob stood in the doorway, red faced and wild eyed, his thinning hair messy and out of place. I’m sure the tourists were worried this crazed man was about to attack. In fact, if I hadn’t known Bob was usually a sedate, middle-aged man, I would have thought the same thing. That was what worried me.
    Fear slithered up my spine, snaking out through every nerve in my body.
    “Found what?” someone shouted.
    But I knew.
    I knew.
    “The Roanoke colony!”
    My tray fell to the ground, plates breaking, food splattering everywhere. The customers around me shrieked and jumped out of the way, and I knew that I should clean it up, but I was too lightheaded and shaky. One thought ran through my head like a bulldozer, shoving every other conscious thought out of its path.
    It’s real. The curse is real.
    “Ellie?” Lila’s face came into view. “You don’t look so good. Do you want to sit down?”
    I nodded in my haze. Someone set a chair behind me and pushed me down.
    “It’s on the news! Someone turn on the TV!”
    The television on the wall in the corner flipped on and someone changed the channel until a local station came on. A news reporter stood in front of a taped-off area. Trees filled the background, as well as a crowd. “… it’s too early to know if this is actually
the
legendary site, but researchers are hopeful. What
is
known is that the village they have discovered is completely intact.”
    A male voiceover asked, “Mary, how is this possible? We’ve been told that archaeologists have already searched the spot where the village appeared. How could they miss it?”
    The woman’s hand held her earpiece to her, and she turned to look at the taped-off area behind her. “Witnesses tell me that late yesterday afternoon when the park closed, there was nothing but a field here. But when groundskeepers came through this section around mid-morning, picking up fallen tree branches from the storm, they found the village. The current thought is perhaps the storm somehow uncovered the colony. If this turns out to be the actual Lost Colony, the experts are calling it the find of the century.”
    “Am I seeing structures behind you? They look like thatch huts.”
    “Phil, when I said intact, that’s exactly what I meant. Fully erected houses, tools, even food—in edible condition according to one source. It’s as though we’ve stepped back into 1587.”
    “How can we be sure this isn’t an elaborate hoax?
    The news reporter grimaced. “While that is a possibility, we’ve been told that multiple skeletal remains have been discovered, fully dressed in period clothing. Early reports suggest at least one hundred bodies have been discovered, including several children and a baby. If this is a hoax, it’s a morbid one indeed.”
    “And they think this entire site was exposed by last night’s storm? That seems pretty incredible.”
    “Part of the ground has been washed away, about two feet, and the village is now exposed. The storm is the only logical explanation anyone can come up with, though even then you must ignore the fact the huts would have stood taller than the ground before the dirt was washed away.”
    The cell phone in my pocket buzzed. The excited voices of the restaurant patrons filled my ears. I could only sit and stare at the TV.
    “Somebody get Ellie a wet towel!” Lila shouted. “She looks like she’s about to pass out.”
    It’s real. Oh my god. It’s real.
    The bell on the door jingled, and Claire stopped in the doorway, searching the room. When she spotted me, she hurried over. “I just heard.”
    I looked up at her wide eyed and dismayed. “It’s real.”
    She nodded, excitement radiating off of her.
    My cell phone buzzed again, tickling my leg.
    Lila pressed a wet paper towel to my forehead. “Why is this