She covered her mouth with both hands to stifle a scream. She recognized Hunter Feenie's mop of light blond hair, shining silver-blue in the moonlight. She slid her hands to the base of her throat and lowered her shield.
Hunter grabbed the splintered windowsill, dug his toes into the chinks between the logs and clung to the side of the cabin like a tick on a dog. “Gimme a hand.”
Channie leaned out the window and grabbed the straps of Hunter’s overalls while he adjusted his grip. The scent of pine sap clung to his skin. How long had he been hiding in that tree? Had he been spying on her? Watching her sleep? As soon as Channie was sure he wouldn’t fall into Momma’s protection spells, she let go.
Hunter poked his head inside the loft and flashed a crooked grin at her — as if climbing through her window in the middle of the night was the most natural thing in the world.
“Hey, girl.”
Channie folded her arms across her chest. “How the heck did you get past Momma’s protection spells?”
No one but a family member could get within ten feet of the magically enhanced shrubs surrounding the cabin. Not without getting hit with a bolt of pure energy.
Hunter smirked at Channie. “Move over. Let me in.”
“Are you crazy? My folks’ll kill you.”
“Your Daddy’s out runnin’ moonshine with mine. They won’t be back till sunrise. And I ain’t afraid of your momma.”
“Well, I am. What do you want?”
Hunter pulled a sliver out of his palm with his teeth. “Are you gonna let me in or not? I cain’t hang on much longer.”
“That’s a lie.”
The Feenies had more kids than food so they were all a little skinny, but they were stronger than they looked. They were also ornery and tough as nails. Hunter could hang from her windowsill all night if he had to. But he was making too much noise.
Channie shushed him then whispered, “Meet me at the sycamore tree behind the kitchen garden. And stay outta sight.”
Hunter tucked his knees against his chest then let go with one hand, twisting around so he faced the ground.
“Hunter? What’re you doing?”
He let go and pushed off from the cabin, arching his back, arms and legs spread eagled behind him.
Channie’s heart leapt into her throat. She tried to grab him, but all she got was air. “No!”
Sparks exploded when Hunter hit Momma’s protection spells. But instead of getting fried to a crisp — he bounced — skimming across the surface; like a stone skipping across a crawdad pond.
“Wow.” Channie’s jaw dropped.
Hunter used his shield and the energy from the protection spells to propel himself through the air.
He bounced on his belly three times then swung his hips forward and flipped over backwards. He landed feet first on the roof of the Chevy then rebounded into the pine tree.
“Good lord!” How’d he do that?
Hunter dropped from the branches of the still swaying pine tree, waved at her then turned and trotted off.
Channie waited until he disappeared into the shadows then crept down the ladder to the main floor. She took three steps then froze when a floorboard creaked. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed Momma hadn’t heard her.
What was she thinking — sneaking out to meet a boy in the middle of the night? What if Momma woke up and decided to check on the trips and found Channie missing? It’d be better to wake Momma up right now and tell her she was going to the privy so she wouldn’t come looking for her.
She stood outside Momma and Daddy’s bedroom until her heart rate returned to normal, then opened the door.
A stinging spell set Channie’s skin on fire. She cried out and knocked over the potted fern holding the curse, cutting off the flow of magic.
“Enchantment? Is that you? Oh, baby girl, I’m so sorry. I set that spell for your Daddy and fell asleep. What are you doing up in the middle of the night?”
Channie panted until the pain subsided then blinked the tears out of her eyes. “I just wanted to let you know I’m going to use the privy and … it might be awhile.”
“I told you kids to lay off those dried apricots.” Momma sat up and swung her legs out of bed. “I’m all out of slippery elm, but I could brew you some raspberry leaf tea.”
“It’s not that bad.” Channie took a deep breath and focused on calming herself. She’d have a hard time explaining why she was so nervous if Momma decided to scan her. “I didn’t want you to worry about me if you got up and found me missing, that’s all.”
The lie pricked Channie’s conscience but since she’d already been hit with a stinging spell, she figured she’d paid for it in advance.
Momma yawned and tucked her feet back under the covers. “Come get me if you don’t feel better before morning.”
~***~
Channie wished she’d thought this through a little better and thrown a pair of jeans on under her gown or at least brushed the tangles out of her hair. She combed her fingers through the worst of it as she walked towards the privy. When she was certain Momma couldn’t see her, Channie gathered the loose fabric of her gown into her arms and left the path.
Bluestem grass, heavy with dew, tickled the backs of her knees. A mosquito buzzed past her ear. Channie swatted at it then cast a bug-be-gone spell on herself. She should’ve done that before ever stepping outside. Hopefully, the chiggers weren’t out yet. Channie’s legs itched just thinking about it.
When she found Hunter leaning against the sycamore tree, one bare foot propped against the trunk, Channie’s stomach muscles tightened. And it had nothing to do with dried apricots.
Hunter’d grown since the last time she’d seen him. A lot. His shoulders were broader too.
Channie wanted to ask him how he’d learned to bounce across a protection spell on his shield; but he was cocky enough without her acting all googley-eyed.
She let go of her gown and jammed her fists on her hips, trying her best to look annoyed instead of impressed. “What’s so important it couldn’t wait ‘till morning?”
“What happened?” Hunter pushed away from the tree and traced the bruise on Channie’s forehead.
Startled by the tenderness of his touch, Channie turned her head. “It’s nothing. Just a bruise.”
“I thought you were apprenticed to Ms. Wisdom. How come you didn’t heal it?”
“I’m not allowed to use healing magic until I pass my herbology exams.”
“You better get someone to heal it for you soon or it’ll leave a scar.”
This time, when Hunter touched her, Channie held perfectly still. She didn’t even breathe.
He brushed his fingertips across her brow and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you gonna be at Spring Gathering?”
Channie nodded.
Hunter edged closer. He trailed the back of his fingers down Channie’s jaw, leaving behind a path of fire and goosebumps.
Channie’s pulse thundered behind her ears as Hunter leaned in. He whispered her name — her real name. “Enchantment.”
She gasped and jerked away from Hunter when she realized her power-name was influencing him. She pulled her magic back inside her body and hoped he hadn’t noticed.
Hunter blinked and shook his head, as if coming out of a trance. He rocked back on his heels and jammed his fists in his pockets.
Most of the time, Channie loved her power-name, and the sound of it on Hunter’s lips warmed her heart. But right now, she didn’t know which was more embarrassing — the fact that she wasn’t in control of it; or that Hunter thought she was trying to enchant him.
Channie squirmed as Hunter chewed on his bottom lip and studied her. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Should she try to explain and apologize or just keep her mouth shut?
Hunter lowered his gaze to his feet and flicked a pebble across the ground with his big toe. “When you get to The Gathering, tell Lovie Schmidt that you want to talk to her in private — and do it in front
of her momma.”
“What?” Lovie Schmidt was not supposed to be a part of this conversation.
“Once you’re outta sight, tell her to meet me inside O’Riley’s barn.”
Anger lit up Channie’s energy field like a hay field on fire. “You’ve got some nerve dragging me out here in the middle of the night! If you think I’m gonna cover for you so you can sneak off with somebody else you better think again!”
“Whoa.” Hunter’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped. After a moment, a grin spread across his face. “You’re jealous.”
“I am not!”
“You’re mad because I asked you to help me sneak off with somebody else. So, that means—”
“It don’t mean a damn thing!” Channie whirled around and stomped back to the cabin with Hunter’s laughter ringing in her ears.
~***~
The next morning, Channie woke up with a pounding headache. One look in the mirror was all it took to convince her she needed a master healer. She didn’t want to risk Momma trying to heal it and leaving a scar. So she wrote a note on the chalkboard in the kitchen then rode her bike to Aunt Wisdom’s place.
Channie found her in the greenhouse, grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle.
“Good lord, Channie. What happened?”
“I bumped my head on that old pine support beam again.”
“Come here.” Aunt Wisdom shifted from favorite aunt to master healer. She set the mortar and pestle on the work table then cast a cleansing spell on her hands. “Let’s have a look.”
Aunt Wisdom tilted Channie’s head from side to side as she examined the cut. She pursed her lips and frowned. “Have a seat. I’ll go get my supplies.”
Channie hopped her butt up onto the table then picked up the mortar and pestle. Might as well make herself useful. She swung her bare feet back and forth as she worked. The sharp, clean scent of lavender tickled Channie’s nose. She rubbed the tip of it with the back of her hand to keep from sneezing.
When Aunt Wisdom returned, she poured a quarter cup of magically enhanced disinfectant into a glass bowl and added a handful of cotton balls. “This might sting a little.”
“Wait!” Channie hugged the mortar and pestle to her chest and leaned away from Aunt Wisdom. “Just clean it with regular witch hazel. I don’t need the enhanced stuff.”
“If this were a fresh wound, I might consider it. But it’s already scabbed over.”
Healing Magic — whether administered directly from a healer’s hands or through enhanced herbal remedies — was painful. The more powerful the magic, the greater the pain.
As a first year apprentice, it was Channie’s job to enhance the plants. She knew exactly how much magic was in that tincture. ‘Sting a little’ nothing. This was gonna hurt like hell.
Channie flinched every time Aunt Wisdom dabbed at the cut. “Ouch!”
“Keep grinding that lavender. This’ll hurt less if you focus on something else.”
“It’d hurt a whole lot less if you’d just use regular disinfectant.” Channie knew she was acting like a child, but she hated pain and Aunt Wisdom was taking forever.
When she finished, Aunt Wisdom patted Channie’s knee. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”
Actually, it was, but Channie didn’t ride her bike all the way over here just to have her cut disinfected. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Finish it.”
“Are you sure? It’ll heal just fine if you keep it clean.”
Channie gritted her teeth and nodded. “I don’t want any hint of a scar.”
Aunt Wisdom didn’t waste any time. She held her hand over the lump on Channie’s head and closed her eyes. “On the count of three. One … two … three.”
White-hot pain flashed across Channie’s forehead. It was quicker than a heart-beat, but hurt worse than ten of Momma’s stinging-spells combined. Channie blinked away tears.
“That bump on your noggin was more severe than usual. You must have smacked that beam pretty hard. Did something startle you awake?”
Channie gasped. There was no way Aunt Wisdom knew about Hunter’s visit last night. She winced, hoping Aunt Wisdom would think her gasp was one of pain instead of guilt. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t hit my head on a knot.”
“It’s been four years since your daddy built that loft. There’s no excuse for him not finishing it.”
“I’m gonna whittle it off myself when I get home.”
Aunt Wisdom smiled and winked at Channie. “Just carve a heart and a couple of random initials into the knot. I guarantee your daddy will have it ground down to nothing before sunset.”
“Nobody’s gonna believe I have a boyfriend.”
Aunt Wisdom’s smile disappeared. She sighed and shook her head. “We’ve already talked about this.”
“Please, I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll clean out your chicken coop every day for a year. Just boost my hormone levels a little. I’m sick and tired of being flatter’n a pancake.”
“You’re just a late bloomer, that’s all. Be patient. Your time will come.”
“But Spring Gathering is only two weeks away.”
Aunt Wisdom put her hand on Channie’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “There are consequences for tampering with nature.”
Channie dropped her chin and let her shoulders slump, rounding her back. “There’s consequences for looking like a bean pole, too.”
“Listen to me.” Aunt Wisdom cupped Channie’s face in her palms and tilted her head up. “You are a beautiful young woman with your whole life ahead of you.”
Channie twisted her head out of Aunt Wisdom’s hands. “All the best boys will be spoken for before I ever get a chance.”
“I won’t risk your health just so you can fill out a new dress.”
“I ain’t getting no new dress. Momma’s taking one of Abby’s in for me so it won’t fall off.” Channie dropped her gaze to the crushed gravel floor of the greenhouse. “Not that anyone would notice.”
“What’s it going to take to get you to stop using double negatives and saying ‘ain’t?’” Aunt Wisdom took the mortar and pestle from Channie then nodded towards the house. “Go grab some shoes out of my closet.”
“What for?”
“We’re going to town.”
~***~
Channie ran her hands over the front of her new dress as she examined herself in the mirror. She still wished Aunt Wisdom would have cast a growth spell on her, but the new padded bra helped. She wasn’t nearly as curvy as Lovie Schmidt, but it was a definite improvement.
“Channie, get down here. We’re all waitin’ on you.”
“Yes sir. Be right there.” Channie wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and tied the ends then hiked her skirt up to climb down the ladder out of the loft.
Abby curled her lip and narrowed her eyes at Channie. “I ain’t never got a new dress and new shoes on the same day.”
Daddy turned away from his shaving mirror and glared at Abby. “She works for Wisdom. What she chooses to give Channie ain’t none of your business.”
Abby snorted and folded her arms across her chest. “But, it ain’t fair.” The whiney sound of her voice was worse than fingernails on a chalkboard.
Daddy’s face bloomed scarlet. “Abundance, that’s enough.”
Everyone froze, even the trips. When Daddy used your power-name, you knew you were in trouble. Channie started counting silently in her head and prayed she’d get to ten without Daddy taking off his belt …eight …nine …ten.
Daddy exhaled through pursed lips then rubbed the side of his face with his palm. “I’ll be in the bus.”
Everyone else heaved a sigh of relief and went back to whatever they were doing.
Momma grabbed Zeal with one hand then licked her thumb and rubbed at the corner of his mouth. “What in tarnation have you been eating?”
“Nuffin.” He squirmed out of her grasp and made a dash for the door with Coco hot on his heels.
Momma held Savvy’s chubby cheeks between her palms and kissed his forehead. She narrowed her eyes at Abby. “That jam was on the top shelf. You’ve got to do a better job of watching these babies. Especially Courage and Zeal.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “You’re the one that gave ‘em their power-names, don’t blame me.”
Channie ducked outside before she got caught in the middle of Momma and Abby’s argument. She rarely agreed with anything Abby said, but she was right about the trips’ power-names.
Daddy laid on the horn then stuck his head out the window of their old VW bus. “I’m leaving! Y’all better git your bee-hinds in this here vehicle right now or plan on walking.”
~***~
By the time they got to the gathering, most of the food was gone. Channie wasn’t surprised. Most folks’ pantries were bare by the end of winter. You came to Spring Gathering for the games, music and dancing, not the food.
Momma gave orders as she spread their quilt out next to Old Pappy and Aunt Wisdom. “I expect everyone to stay in the clearing. Don’t go wandering off into the woods. Abby, don’t let them babies outta your sight for one second, you hear me, girl?”
Abby rolled her eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Channie, take the food to the community table and if you see so much as a single fly, recharge the bug-be-gone spells.”
“For the whole table?” The darn thing was made out of heavy cedar planks and spanned the north end of the clearing. If she protected the entire table, not only would it drain most of her magic, it’d leave her too tired for dancing.
Momma raised her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips. “You got a problem with that?”
“No, ma’am.” Channie waited until she was out of range then cast a bug-be-gone spell on herself. She kept her gaze lowered to the ground to be sure she didn’t see any damn flies.
A line formed behind Channie as she wove her way through the crowd.
Momma fed the family biscuits and gravy before they left so Channie wasn’t hungry. She set Momma’s squirrel casserole on the table and scooted it to the side so the folks behind her could dig in. But she hovered over the apricot pie and scanned the crowd, looking for Hunter.
Midnight Surrender: A Paranormal Romance Anthology Page 3