This Changes Everything Read Online Free PDF Page A

weapons she can use to destroy them, then you tell her not to tell
anyone and your biggest concern is that she actually did . She’s
eight years old, John. Eight . I want you to stop telling her
these stories. It was fun at first, but now you’re asking too much of her.”
    They were quiet
for so long that Ellie peeked around the corner, hoping the darkness hid her
face. Her father stood behind his desk and her mother rested against the front
edge. She was turned at the waist, looking toward the bookshelves.
    Her father rubbed
his forehead. “What is the artifact, Amanda?” His voice sounded tired.
    She didn’t look
at him, her face expressionless. “A gold ring.”
    He shook his
head, his brow wrinkling. “Why would they have you research a piece of jewelry?
Why is it significant?”
    “Because of
what’s on it.” She groaned and stood, turning to face him. “It has Native
American symbols carved around the band.”
    Surprise and
excitement lit up his face.
    “And this is
exactly why I didn’t tell you.” She put her hands on her hips. “Not everything
that blends English colonial artifacts and Native American symbols means it’s
related to your damned curse!”
    “Amanda, you have
to let me see it.”
    She looked down
at her feet, shaking her head.
    He moved in front
of her and grabbed her arms. “Amanda. Please .”
    After several
long moments, she reached into her shirt and pulled out a chain.
    “You’ve been
wearing it all this time?” her father asked in disbelief.
    “I’m terrified to
let it out of my sight.” She slipped the chain over her head and handed it to
him.
    He took it with
trembling fingers, lifting it to get a closer look, then gasped. “Do you have
any idea what this is?”
    “Due to the
thickness of the band and the metals used, I think it dates back to the seventeenth
century.”
    Daddy looked up, wide-eyed.
“Not when. What .”
    She didn’t
answer.
    “It’s the ring
Ananias’s great-grandson had created by a Croatan priest.”
    “No, John. It’s
an artifact from the early colonists, perhaps Jamestown or Williamsburg.”
    He ignored her.
“It’s been missing since the late seventeen hundreds. He had it made to create
an extra protection against Okeus. The priest thought the person wearing the
band could banish demons on his own.”
    “Enough
nonsense!” Momma reached for the ring, but he pulled it out of her reach.
    “How can you
pretend this isn’t real when you’ve been wearing proof?”
    “It’s not proof!
It’s a ring engraved with symbols. I want to access the papers at Chapel Hill
and see if I can determine what tribe the symbols belong to.”
    “It would be a
wasted trip.” He tightened his fist around it. “It’s Croatan. It bears the
symbols for earth and water, wind and Okeus.”
    She shook her
head. “You don’t know that.”
    “I do .
I can prove it to you. I have papers in my office at Fort Raleigh. I’ll go get
them and bring them back to show you.”
    She wiped at her
face, and her voice broke. “This obsession has to stop, John.”
    He pulled her
into his arms. “Amanda, I can help you. I’ll get the papers and come right back,
but I need to ask a favor of you.”
    Her back
stiffened and she tried to pull away, but his arms tightened around her.
    “I want to keep
the ring with me. It’s supposed to sing when it’s near Popogusso.”
    “ Sing ? ”
    “It has power
over the gate to hell.”
    “John! Listen to
yourself!”
    “Give me a week.
The gate is on the island, and I think it’s on the park site or close by. I’ll
walk around with the ring and find it.”
    She shook her
head, turning away from him. Ellie saw tears on her cheeks.
    “If I don’t find
it, I’ll stop.”
    Her mouth dropped
open and her head jerked back to face him.
    “I swear. If I
don’t find the gate, I’ll stop telling Ellie the stories.” He paused, then
said, “But you have to give me the full week.”
    She hesitated.
    “What do you have
to lose?