Believe: The Complete Channie Series (44 page)

Josh’s entire body stiffened. His heart hammered beneath Channie’s hand.

“Is that true?”

Channie couldn’t bear to look at him. She nodded. She didn’t know everything about marriage binding spells, but she knew that much.

“Fine …” Josh’s voice broke. He swallowed three times before continuing and when he did, it sounded as if he’d swallowed broken glass. “If that’s how it has to be …I guess...I’ll just have to deal with it. But the minute you’re done, I want you out of her bed and I don’t ever want you to touch her again.”

Hunter folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. “That’s not how it works. Once our heart-of-hearts are bound together, we’ll have to do it at least once a month. Since Channie’s lost her powers, she’s going to be a drain on mine. We’ll probably have to do it more often. Maybe even once a week.”

By now Josh was trembling with rage. Channie said, “Hunter! A little help, please?”

He smirked at her then cast a be-calm spell at Josh. His trembling stopped, but Channie could tell he was still angry.

Hunter leaned forward and said, “Look, I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for all of us. Channie doesn’t want to marry me, and I don’t really want to marry her either. But if we don’t work this out, Channie could die. And I know you don’t want that.”

“No.” Josh went limp, his hand slid from Channie’s waist to her hip. “I don’t.”

Hunter said, “Look, if it will make it any easier, after the wedding, I’ll leave as soon as I’m done, like you suggested. You can take over and do all that cuddly stuff women seem to need after sex. And if you don’t mind sloppy seconds—”

Josh stood up so fast he nearly dumped Channie on the floor. He took one step towards Hunter but then seemed to change his mind. For a second, Channie was afraid he might try to draw the gun and shoot him. He didn’t. He spun around and punched the wall, leaving behind a smear of blood on the curved surface of the log.

Channie’s eyes filled with tears. “Josh, don’t.”

He hit the log again and screamed, “I hate this! I hate magic! And I hate that goddamned book!”

The
front door burst open and Aunt Wisdom flew across the room. She cast a be-calm spell on Josh that knocked him out cold then magically lowered him to the floor.

Hunter whistled, low and long. “Wow. I’d heard you could levitate people, but I never believed it until now.”

Aunt Wisdom swayed on her feet then collapsed onto the pine bench under the window. A spell like that would have drained even the strongest mage. It was a wonder she was still conscious.

She nodded at Josh’s limp body and said, “Who is that and what’s he doing here?”

Channie knelt beside Josh and brushed the curls off his forehead. He smiled, but did not open his eyes. She sat cross-legged on the floor and cradled his head in her lap then looked up at Aunt Wisdom. “His name’s Josh Abrim and he’s my …” boyfriend didn’t even begin to describe what Josh meant to her. “He’s the love of my life.”

Aunt Wisdom arched her eyebrows and said, “Why was he so angry?”

Channie told her an abbreviated version of the story.

Aunt Wisdom shook her head and sighed. “I swear, this family is cursed when it comes to love.” She stood up and said, “I need to go lie down for a bit. Hunter, do you think you can carry Josh up to the loft and put him in Channie’s bed? It’s going to be a while before that spell wears off.”

Channie
followed Hunter up the ladder and tucked Josh into her bed. She knew Hunter was watching, but she didn’t care. She leaned over and kissed Josh’s forehead then brushed her lips across his softly parted mouth. He sighed and kissed her back. It was sweet, but without passion. He was still asleep.

She smoothed his brow with her fingers.

Hunter squatted beside Channie and cleared his throat. “Look, I know right now, you don’t want me in your bed, but this won’t be my first time. I know what I’m doing. If you just relax a little, I can open your eyes to a whole world of pleasure.”

He tried to tuck a strand of Channie’s hair behind her ear, but as soon as she felt his fingers brush her cheek, she recoiled as if he’d slapped her.

Hunter shrugged his shoulders and stood up. “I thought I was doing you a favor...marrying you to break the curse, but I ain’t gonna take you by force.”

Channie bowed her head, then stood up and squeezed Hunter’s shoulder. “You
are
doing me a huge favor. And you won’t have to take me by force. Just don’t expect me to enjoy it.”

“You really love him, don’t you.”

“You have no idea.”

“It will be a serious blow to my ego, but I’m willing to cast a come-hither spell on you after the wedding, so you can enjoy it.”

“I don’t want to enjoy it.”

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it if you just lay there like a cold fish.”

Maybe boys weren’t all that different from girls after all. “I’ll do my best, Hunter. Just...be patient.”

His grin returned. “That’s all I’m asking.”

Channie forced herself to reach up and touch Hunter’s cheek. “I’d like to spend the next few days with Josh. If you don’t mind.”

“Sure. I have some things I need to take care of anyway.”

Probably had to cancel a couple of dates. Channie didn’t care. In fact, she hoped Hunter didn’t burn any bridges. The more he tomcatted around, the less time he’d spend in her bed.

Channie
waited until she heard Hunter leave, then crawled into bed with Josh. She stroked his cheek with her fingers and bit back a sob. It was so unfair. They could finally touch without pain, but it was too late. She kissed him again then got out of bed and went into Momma and Daddy’s room, where Aunt Wisdom was resting. The bed was unmade, but she was lying on top of the covers. Hunter’s clothes were scattered across the floor. It was obvious, this was his room now.

Aunt Wisdom sat up. “Tell me everything that’s happened since Abby ran away.”

Channie’s heart skipped a beat. “Is she here?”

“She was, but she’s in Mexico now.”

“What in the world is she doing in Mexico?”

“Diego thought it would be safer to get her out of the country until things settle down.”

“He knows about magic?”

“He does now.”

“What about the trips?” Even though Abby had deserted them once already, it was hard to believe she’d leave the country without them.

“I convinced her they’d be safer wherever they are for the time being. I assume they’re with your parents?” Aunt Wisdom held her hand up, palm out. “Don’t tell me. The less we know about each other’s whereabouts, the better. I move around a lot and suggest you do the same.”

Channie felt guilty for deserting the trips. She wasn’t any better than Abby. If she survived this mage war, she’d go back to Colorado and get them. She didn’t care if Hunter agreed or not, she’d raise the boys as her own.

Aunt Wisdom said, “Tell me more about the anti-tracking spell your parents cast. Neither of them have the ability or intelligence to create such a perfect and subtle spell.”

She listened without saying a word as Channie told how Momma had retrieved the Book of the Dead. She decided not to mention the horrible curse Momma triggered when she took the book since she wasn’t in any immediate danger. One disaster at a time.

Aunt Wisdom said, “I knew that grave had been disturbed but never, in my wildest dreams, would I have imagined that Prudence had the gumption to retrieve a Book of the Dead. I was scared to death it had fallen into the hands of our enemies.”

“Momma and Daddy used the book to change my power name to Chastity.”

“They did
what
!”

“They were afraid I was going to get knocked up like Abby.”

“So...instead of using an infertility spell...they cursed you?”

Channie nodded.

Aunt Wisdom scooted over and patted the mattress. “What happened?”

Channie crawled onto the bed and laid her head on Aunt Wisdom’s shoulder. “I kept repeating, ‘my name is Enchantment’ during the spell and a small part of it escaped into my heart-of-hearts when Chastity took over my power-well.”

“I’ll work with you and teach you to use heart magic to strengthen Enchantment. It won’t be the same, but—”

“I can’t. I …” Channie refused to cry, but she couldn’t hide her distress from Aunt Wisdom.

She smoothed Channie’s hair then kissed the top of her head, just like Josh did whenever she was upset. It took all of Channie’s self-control to keep from sobbing. A wave of calm washed over her, followed by a ripple of guilt. Aunt Wisdom was still too weak from levitating Josh. She shouldn’t be casting be-calm spells, even though it helped Channie continue. She felt disconnected from the story, as if it had happened to someone else.

Tears flowed down Aunt Wisdom’s cheeks when Channie described how she’d sacrificed Enchantment’s magic to kill Harvey. By the time Channie finished, Aunt Wisdom looked as if she’d aged twenty years. She said, “You’ve lost all magical abilities?”

“I can’t even find my power-well, much less my heart-of-hearts.”

Aunt Wisdom scanned Channie then said, “Everything is still there, but your power-well is so scarred it’s sealed shut and your heart-of-hearts is barely beating. Perhaps, in time, you’ll be able to cast a few simple spells, but without a power name, it won’t be the same.”

Channie sat up straighter, lifting her head off Aunt Wisdom’s shoulder. “Then give me another power name.”

Aunt Wisdom shook her head slowly then sighed and said, “It’s a miracle you survived the first name change. I’m afraid another will drive you insane or even kill you. Besides, there’s no place for it to dwell.” She gripped Channie’s cheeks with both hands and lifted her face, piercing her eyes with her gaze. “There’s no reason you can’t live a full and happy life without magic. You might have lost your abilities, but your connection to Josh survived. I don’t know anyone that wouldn’t trade magic for true love.”

“I wouldn’t trade true love for magic either, but I would trade my life to protect Josh. I’m going to marry Hunter.”

“Don’t make any final decisions until the full moon. The book instructed you to bind your heart to Josh, with no regrets, but later demanded you marry a royal mage?”

Channie nodded. “It’s a cruel book.”

Aunt Wisdom frowned. “I’m not even going to ask how you two got your hands on a Book of the Dead, but do you still have it?”