Raisonne Curse Read Free Page B

the loud whispers coming from the walls, their urgency causing an uncomfortable knot in his gut. “Can’t. It’s bad. It’s one of old Rattrap’s curses.”
    Something clattered in the background. “Listen to me. You can’t take on that kind of magic by yourself. Wait for us. I can wrap things up fast and fly in by Wednesday. Can you get her to stay there? Pryor, you can’t turn her down.”
    “Of course I won’t turn her down.” Stay here? They never wanted overnight guests. And for good reason.
    “I mean it. Do not turn the Raisonne woman down, and don’t let her leave—”
    This time, the crashing noise came from the bathroom. When Elita cried out, Pryor hissed, “Gotta go.” He flipped the phone closed on his cursing brother, shoved it into his pocket, and ran to the bathroom. He pushed open the door, ignoring the buzzing phone in his jeans.
    The cabinet that held towels and the first aid supplies had crashed to the floor. Elita was in the process of moving the towel she’d held over her breasts to the new cut on her arm where the cabinet must have hit her. Mouth open, he walked to the wall and touched the holes left by the bolts he’d used to anchor that cabinet. Turning back to her, he couldn’t help but notice she had beautiful breasts. Full, round, and tipped by nipples a lighter color than her hair. His mouth went dry.
    “Oh crap,” she muttered, yanking the towel back over those breasts. “Sorry.”
    “Don’t be. Je préfère les en-cas sucrés .”
    She narrowed her eyes and he had to swallow a chuckle. He could see her mind working a translation.
    “That cabinet shouldn’t have come down like that,” he murmured.
    She looked down at the floor. “It looks intact. If it’s broken, I’ll get you another. These things are happening so fast now.”
    “I don’t care about the cabinet. I do care that it hurt you.” He knelt and rummaged in the spilled items and found the first aid supplies he’d need. “Let’s get you bandaged up. I’ve decided not to wait for my brothers. We need to try a hex reversal spell fast.”
    Whispers floated in the air and he wished he could decipher them. There were too many voices, too many emotions. He stared at Elita as she looked toward the hall.
    Something about her was raising the ghosts of his home and that wasn’t such a good thing. The Bernaux had suffered through the yellow fever epidemic, then several floods. In every generation, three brothers carried the ability to break curses. But it was a gift that came with a price.
    And there was nothing more dangerous than angry dead.

Chapter Two
    There were too many ghosts in this damned house.
    Elita shivered, fear tightening her chest as so many voices uttered words she couldn’t understand. The faint wailing and sobbing that threaded the whispers made her want to run outside. Some of these ghosts had suffered badly enough to carry the pain into death. Shuddering, she held the towel over her breasts, trying to ignore the stinging in both her arm and back now. She’d just peeled off the sweaty T-shirt when the cabinet had toppled over. If she hadn’t jumped out of the way, the heavy monster would have slammed into her head.
    She stared into the mirror at the washed out color of her skin, the stark terror in her eyes that stood out against the flowery wallpaper reflected in the mirror. She couldn’t run away like a ninny. If she found a way to end the curse, she could help her cousins. Besides, Pryor fascinated her. She was pretty sure he’d just told her he preferred sweet snacks. She blushed at the thought of him treating her breasts like snacks.
    He straightened from gathering spilled supplies off the floor. He took her breath away as she looked up into eyes the color of dark gold. She couldn’t stop herself from looking at the gorgeous, tanned expanse of his chest. The tattoos fascinated her and without considering what she was doing, she reached out to run her finger over the largest one on