Enchantment (16 page)

He said, “You have a shield, too. Use it.”

“It won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Because my shield is powered by a mixture of Chastity and Enchantment’s magic. It won’t repel either of them.”

“So how come my shield works?”

“Because I was very careful to only use Enchantment’s magic when I created it. If your shield had even a trace of Chastity’s magic, it wouldn’t protect you from the curse. If I want to use magic on you again, I’ll have to use Enchantment.”

“How about you just not use magic on me at all?” Josh smiled, but his words still stung.

One of the boys whimpered inside the trailer. Grateful for the distraction, Channie stepped back inside.
 

Savvy started crying the minute he saw her and said, “Where am I?”

~***~

Thank goodness the Abrim's had a waterproof mattress pad. All three boys had wet the bed — a side effect of Daddy’s be-calm spell.

Josh called his momma and told her what happened. She cleaned up the bedding while Channie and Momma cleaned up the boys as best they could.
 

Momma said, “We should have left hours ago. Joshua, go find Channie’s daddy and tell him to meet us at the bus.”
 

Channie bristled at the way Momma ordered Josh around, but since he didn’t seem to mind, she let it go.
 

While Momma was busy buckling the boys into their car seats, Josh tapped Channie on the shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “If you want to stay for the award ceremony, we can give you a ride home.”

“I’d like that very much. Thank you.” Channie waited until the boys were all buckled up and said, “Momma, I’m going to stay and watch Josh get his award. His family will bring me home afterwards.”

Momma froze. Her voice was dangerously quiet. “Chastity, get in the bus.”

Channie shook her head. “You misunderstood me. I wasn’t asking for your permission. I was just letting you know my plans.”
 

Momma backed out of the bus like a spooked horse — nostrils flared, eyes wide and rimmed all around in white — she even stomped her foot.
 

Chastity’s energy buzzed with the same prickly sensation but instead of irritating Channie, it invigorated her.
 

Momma said, “You willing to curse me to get your way?”

“I will if I have to.”

“I see.”
 

It was fun to butt heads with Momma when she was angry, but when her eyes filled with tears, Channie felt mean. Her resolve weakened — until she stole a sideways glance at Josh. The corners of his eyes tightened just a bit as he pulled his lower lip through his teeth. Channie licked her own lips then forced her gaze away from Josh’s mouth back to Momma. “Don’t wait up for me.”

“I won’t sleep a wink till you’re home safe and sound.”

Channie wrapped her arms around Momma and hugged her. She did not hug back.

On the way to the Abrim's trailer, Channie discovered that as long as she didn’t look at Josh, touch him, or get close enough to smell him, she could keep her lust — and herself — under control.
 

It was a lot harder inside the trailer. Josh sat down and patted the cushion next to him. Channie pressed her lips together and shook her head. She sat on the bench against the opposite wall, as far from Josh as she could get.

He said, “Did I do or say something to upset you?”

“No.”

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

“This is so embarrassing.”

“You should be able to tell me anything. I’m your boyfriend, remember?”

Channie smiled. The warm glow in her chest helped keep Chastity’s prickly energy under control. Josh was right. Maybe if he understood what was happening, he would stop tempting her.

“Something happened when my curse super-charged your shield.” Channie’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. “It made you super-attractive. Irresistibly attractive.”

“Seriously? That’s awesome!”

“No, Joshua it isn’t. I’m having a very hard time keeping my thoughts pure.”
 

“You’re having sexual fantasies. About me? Wow.”

Channie hugged her knees to her chest and hid her face behind her folded arms.

“Channie?” Josh’s voice was deep but gentle. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I’m flattered.”

“I’m just so embarrassed.”

“I have fantasies about you too. I have ever since that first night in the park.”

“Please. Don’t.” Channie’s control was too fragile. She couldn’t afford to think about that kiss.

Josh said, “I’m sorry. What can I do to help?”

Channie lifted her head and rested her chin on her knees. “Well, to start with, can you try to control your own lust a little better?”

“I thought I was.”

“Try harder.”

“Why do you think my shield made me attractive? I thought it was only supposed to protect me from magic. Not create it.”

“I don’t know. Unless …”

Channie untucked her knees and turned sideways to face Josh. “When Momma and Daddy changed my name, I fought back and was able to save Enchantment, by hiding it inside my heart-of-hearts. I can tap into it, but I don’t really know what I’m doing. It’s like when I first learned to cast spells.”

“What do you mean?”

“At first, everything was pretty much trial and error … with lots of unexpected results.”

“You made mistakes with magic?”

“Oh, yeah. Lots of them. It’s one of the reasons mages live in such isolated communities. It takes about four years for a kid to learn to control their powers.”

“Did you make a mistake when you made my shield?”

“Obviously.” Channie pushed the hair off her forehead with both hands. “The more energy I pour into your shield, the harder it is to control myself.”

“Then quit energizing me.”

“I’m trying, but your shield seems to want my lustful energy as much as Chastity wants yours. It’s practically pulling it out of me.”
 

“Have you thought about discharging some of it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you could zap a few guys.”

Channie giggled and said, “That’s really mean.”
 

“You do it at school.”

“I have to. If I let it build up, I could hurt someone.”

“I’m someone.”

“You’re right.” Channie stepped out of the trailer and said, “Help me find a group of people without any children.” If the group was large enough and she cast the spell from a distance, it should dilute the power. Channie refused to curse a child, no matter how weak the spell.

Josh pointed to a group of a dozen teenagers hunkered down in the bed of an old red pickup truck about thirty yards from the Abrim's trailer. The ones that weren’t coupled up and writhing under blankets were passing a joint around. “Are they friends of yours?”

“Not really. I know most of them, but since I don’t smoke pot or drink, and they don’t take racing seriously, we don’t have anything in common. Hey, there’s Amanda.”

“Where?”

“She just poked her head back under the blanket. I told you she wasn’t interested in me.”

Channie grinned and said, “Sorry guys,” then broke up the party.
 

~***~

With Chastity’s power-well empty and Josh sitting on the opposite side of the trailer, Channie was finally able to relax a little. She was still attracted to him, but it was a warm pleasant feeling instead of the ravening need she’d felt earlier.

Josh said, “Are you getting hungry?”
 

“Yeah, but not for food.” Crap. She didn’t mean to say that out loud.

Josh’s jaw dropped, but his widening grin pulled it back into place.

Channie covered her lips with three fingers. “I’m so sorry. That jumped out of my mouth without my permission.”

“I don’t mind.”
 

His grin softened to a smile that did funny things to Channie’s stomach. She closed her eyes and said, “Please, don’t encourage me.”

“This is really bugging you, isn’t it?”

Channie nodded her head.

“Why don’t I go get you a hotdog or something? You should eat.”

“That sounds good. Thank you.”

As soon as the trailer door shut, Channie’s phone started playing “Gotta Be Somebody.”
 

“Hello?”

“Do you miss me?”

Channie giggled and said, “You just left.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yes, I miss you.”

“There’s a huge crowd around the concession stand. This might take awhile.”

The phone went quiet and Channie was afraid the battery might have died, until she heard Josh say, “What are you doing?”
 

His voice was agitated but muffled. Channie cast a simple listen-up spell on herself. She could hear Josh a little better, but not who he was talking to ...

“… I’m on the phone.”

“… Cut it out! I already have a girlfriend.”

Channie didn’t like the sound of that.

“… Back off, or I’m calling security.”

She really didn’t like the sound of that.

“Joshua?”

No answer.
 

She flew out of the trailer and took off at a dead run towards the concession stand.
 

About half way there, she spotted some sort of a disturbance and knew instinctively that Josh was in the middle of it. Two men in black shirts were scuffling with a small crowd of girls, but as soon as they’d pull one out of the fray, another one took her place. What the hell?

Channie shoved her phone in her pocket and headed for the ruckus.

~***~

There was so much raw lust in the air it overwhelmed Chastity’s power-well within seconds. And it was all directed at Josh. Those girls wanted her man!

Channie was blinded by rage. She punched, kicked, clawed and bit her way through the crowd, yelling, “Get away from him, he’s mine!”

The blood rushing behind her ears was deafening. Someone wrapped his big, hairy arms around her chest while someone else grabbed her feet. Channie hit them both with stinging spells that would leave them in pain for days. And came to her senses.
 

What was she doing fighting with her teeth and nails like a rabid animal? Channie used every last bit of Chastity’s energy and cast a broad, gender-specific moon-curse at the crowd of girls still trying to get to Josh. They scattered like a henhouse full of chickens with a fox in the coop.
 

Channie hoped the concession stand was well stocked with feminine hygiene products. Actually — she didn't. It would serve those little hussies right if they had to fight over something other than Josh.

With all the girls gone, it was easy to spot Josh. His shirt was torn and hanging off one shoulder and he was shaking. Channie didn’t have enough energy left to check his body for injuries, but after the last time she tried to fix his nose, decided that was probably a good thing.
 

Before she could get close enough to touch him one of the black-shirted men grabbed her roughly and said, “You need to stay back.”

Josh looked up, his eyes wide until he recognized her. His expression instantly softened.
 

“Let her go. She’s my girlfriend.”

Channie wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him against her chest, but she didn’t dare. Her motives were pure, but they wouldn’t stay that way if she touched him.

She kept her hands clasped in front of her mouth and chewed on her knuckles as she followed Josh and the men to the first-aide station. There were already a couple of girls there, but they were in too much pain to notice Josh.

“I’ve never had cramps this bad before. Please, I need something stronger than Advil.”

“I’m sorry miss, but we don’t dispense anything but ibuprofin for menstrual cramps.”

Channie could have eased the girl’s suffering, but she wasn’t particularly inclined to do so. Magic was no excuse for assault. If she could control herself then those girls should have been able to do so as well.

Josh’s Daddy said, “What happened, son?”

“I don’t know. I was talking to Channie on the phone and Lisa Manchester comes up to me and starts tugging on my arm. She asked me if I wanted to …”

Josh’s voice faded. He glanced at Channie and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
 

“I told her I had a girlfriend and that I wasn’t interested, but she wouldn’t leave me alone. Then, Amanda, Lauren, and a whole bunch of other girls I don't even know start grabbing at me.”

A Black-shirt said, “It was a classic female feeding frenzy but I’ve never seen one at a BMX race before. We have a few race groupies we keep our eyes on, but most of these girls have never been a problem. This was rock-star madness.”

Josh said, “It was scary.”

“No offense kid, but I don’t get it.”

“None taken. I don’t get it either.”

“Have any of these girls ever attacked you before tonight?”

“I’ve been … propositioned by the groupies you mentioned. But never attacked. They’ve always been nice to me, even after I turn them down.”

Josh grimaced when the healer working on him blotted the cut on his face with antiseptic smelling gauze. “Sorry. This might sting a little.”

Josh rolled his eyes and smiled at Channie. “Are you okay? These brutes didn’t hurt you, did they?”

One of the brutes said, “We’re just doing our job kid.”

Channie said, “I’m fine, Josh, and you should thank these men for protecting you,” even though she was the one that actually rescued him. She knew these men took their jobs seriously, but they had no idea what they were up against. She’d created this problem, so as far as Channie was concerned, Josh’s protection was her job now.

The first order of business was to get him someplace safe — away from any girls that missed out on the first go-round of her curse. Josh could rest in his daddy’s trailer, but she wasn’t about to leave him alone in there, in case one of those little sluts decided to pay him a visit.

~***~

The Abrim's trailer was just big enough — if Josh stayed at one end and Channie at the other — to maintain a safe distance. Josh climbed onto the bed and collapsed with a groan. Channie sat on the bench behind the table and flopped back against the wall. She put her forearm over her eyes.