“I understand.”
Well, Channie sure as hell didn’t. Why on earth did Josh want Ezra to think she was pregnant?
Ezra said, “Why don’t you two go on to bed. A good night’s rest can help almost any situation.” He patted Channie’s arm then cupped the back of Josh’s neck with his palm and said, “I love you, son. Everything’s going to be fine.”
~***~
As soon as Josh shut their bedroom door, Channie lit into him. “What the hell, Josh? Why did you do that?”
He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it in total disarray. “Look, you don’t know my dad the way I do. He wasn’t going to stop questioning us until he got some answers that made sense. And it wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to talk us into annulling our marriage. I just don’t want to deal with it. An imaginary pregnancy solved both problems.”
“But now he’s going to worry about a baby that doesn’t even exist. And what are you going to tell him when my belly stays flat?” Channie’s stomach churned. “And what if he wants me to go see a doctor?” She’d heard about the way Empty doctors examined pregnant women from Kassie. No way would she submit to that.
“Hey you, come here.” Josh tugged on Channie’s hands as he sat on the edge of their bed. “I think it’s better he worry about a non-existent baby than the truth. I don’t think he’s ready to hear about magic. And hopefully, the book will show us the next step before we have to worry about you not showing. When this war is over, and we can come home, we’ll just tell him you miscarried.”
“That’s cruel, Josh. Folks have a way of falling in love with just the idea of a baby. You know he’s probably downstairs telling Liz all about it right now.”
Josh groaned and smacked his forehead with his palm. “I forgot about Liz. She’ll probably have one of the guest-rooms converted into a nursery before the end of the week.”
Channie picked up Josh’s back pack and handed it to him. “Let’s just hope the book gives us some answers tonight so we can squelch this whole baby idea before it spirals out of control.”
The book started glowing as soon as Josh touched it. He said, “I don’t suppose I could persuade you to wait in the bathroom while I open it?”
Channie shook her head.
“I didn’t think so. But at least go sit on the bed.”
“Josh, we’re in this together.”
“I’m not arguing with you. There’s still just one name on the cover.”
Even without touching it, the book’s energy lured Channie closer. “But we’ve opened it together before.”
Josh stood up and squared his shoulders, towering over Channie. “This is non-negotiable.” His entire body resonated with power.
Channie sat back on the edge of the bed and slid her hands under her butt to keep from reaching for the book. “Promise you’ll show me what it says.”
Josh nodded then walked to the opposite side of the room, crossed his ankles and sank to the floor. He rested his elbows on his knees, took a deep breath and opened the book.
Gold sparks flickered in Josh’s eyes as flames danced across the page. He drew his eyebrows together and frowned then blinked and said, “That’s it?”
Channie stood up and said, “What did it say?”
Josh set the book on the floor and snapped a picture with his phone.
Channie knelt beside him and read the words out loud.
“The stars and planets are nearly aligned
Blood calls to blood its powers to bind.
Live your life as you did before.
When the time is right, you’ll go to war.”
Josh said, “What does it mean ‘live your life as you did before?’ Are we really supposed to just go back to school and pretend like none of this is real?”
“You opened the book. Those instructions are for you, not me.”
Josh narrowed his eyes. “And?”
“Someone has to warn Aunt Wisdom about Dominance’s plan.”
Josh exhaled, lifting the hair off his brow with his breath. “I agree. But I say we stay here for a couple of days and get rested up before we leave.”
“Josh, you can’t leave. Not after the book told you to stay put.”
Josh picked up Channie’s left hand and kissed her ring. “You promised you’d never leave me again.”
“Just the thought of being separated from you is killing me. But what else am I supposed to do?”
“We either stay here and wait until the book tells us to go — or we ignore the book and leave together. Your choice.”
Channie dropped her gaze to her feet. “I could sneak away while you’re asleep.”
Josh lifted her chin with his finger, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “I followed you to Las Vegas without even knowing which direction you were headed. This time I know exactly where you’re going.”
The Book of the Dead was the only hope Josh had of learning how to defeat Dominance. Without its help, they were all doomed. “Fine. We wait.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LIES
Josh slipped the Book of the Dead back into its velvet case and hid it under his bed. His eyes felt as if they were full of sand. He needed sleep, but his need to protect Channie was stronger. “Dad and Liz should be asleep by now. I’m going to sneak out and cast a few misdirection spells around the perimeter of the neighborhood.”
Channie yawned and blinked then said, “Do you want me to go with you?”
“Why don’t you stay here and take a shower instead?” He wrapped his arms around her then pressed his forehead against hers. “We still haven’t celebrated our wedding. I want to find you naked in bed when I get back.”
She blushed and grinned then nodded her head and said, “All right. But hurry back.”
Josh adjusted the shower for Channie, then crept downstairs and disabled the alarm before slipping outside. He chuckled to himself as he thought of all the delivery truck drivers calling for directions when they couldn’t find any of the addresses. The regular delivery services should be okay. According to Channie’s aunt, as long as you were very familiar with a protected area, a misdirection spell wouldn’t keep you from finding it eventually. Netflix deliveries might be a little slow for a couple of days, but that was a small price to pay if it kept Channie’s mom from finding her.
It took a little over forty-five minutes to cast all the spells. Their house had to be completely out of the line of sight from the entire perimeter of protection, or it wouldn’t work. Josh’s power-well was nearly empty by the time he finished, but the thought of Channie waiting for him in bed, gave him a boost of energy. He checked all the locks and reset the alarm system then took his shoes off so he could run upstairs without making any noise. The last thing he wanted was to wake up Dad and Liz and try to explain what he’d been doing.
Thoughts of Channie’s naked body had his heart racing by the time he stepped onto the third floor landing. A narrow beam of light seeped out from under his bedroom door. The hiss of a running shower surprised him until he opened the door and found Channie passed out on top of the bed, fully clothed. She hadn’t even taken off her shoes. His body ached for her, but he didn’t have the heart to wake her.
Josh turned off the shower then pulled a couple of extra blankets out of the hall closet and covered them both as he laid down beside Channie. She rolled onto her side and scooted her butt up against him. Josh knew she wouldn’t mind if he woke her up, but he decided sex could wait until morning. He kissed the top of her head, murmured, “I love you,” and fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.
~***~
The next morning, Josh woke up to an empty bed. “Channie?” The bathroom door was closed. He waited for ten minutes but when she didn’t come out, he got up and knocked on the door. No answer. A mist of steam wafted towards him when he opened the door, but she wasn’t in the shower.
He found her downstairs in the kitchen. The aroma of bacon and cornbread made his mouth water. She looked up and grinned at
him then poured a mixing bowl full of scrambled eggs into a hot skillet. “Go take a shower, but make it quick. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes and I’m not sure I can keep Ezra and Liz from eating all the cornbread.”
Josh grabbed a slice of bacon off a serving platter and popped it into his mouth then wrapped his arms around Channie from behind. “Come with me. I’d rather have you than cornbread.” He kissed her neck, behind her ear then nibbled his way to her shoulder.
Channie leaned back, and tilted her head to the side, giving him better access, but said, “We can’t. We’ll be late for school. And stop that. You’re gonna make me burn the eggs.”
“We’ve already missed two and a half weeks. One more day’s not going to make any difference.” Josh kissed the top of her head then released her and turned around to lean against the counter. Besides, I wanna take the book to the bank today. The sooner we get it out of here the better.”
Channie scooped the eggs into a serving bowl and said, “I already told your Daddy we were going to school today. We can go to the bank this afternoon.”
Josh frowned then said, “Guess that means I better make it a cold shower.”
Channie’s blush indicated she knew exactly what he was talking about. She glanced over her shoulder into the dining room where Ezra and Liz were drinking coffee and reading the Daily Camera then extended her hand towards Josh. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep while you were gone last night. Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Josh pulled her into his arms and said, “If I’d known we were going to have to wait so long, I would have.”
Channie’s blush deepened, but she licked her lips and leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “I’ll make it worth the wait. I promise.”
“Oh, babe.” Josh closed his eyes and groaned. “Not helping.”
“Sorry.”
He pressed her back against the refrigerator, pinning her body against his, then kissed her. Hard. She moaned into his mouth and fisted her hands in his hair, pulling him even closer. Definitely not helping.
Josh kissed her forehead and whispered, “I’m holding you to your promise,” then trudged back upstairs to take a cold shower.
~***~
Josh parked in the senior lot and glared at the car next to his. The idiot had written “Go Class of 2013!” on the rear window with a yellow window marker. Stupid freshman. Josh closed his eyes and let the magic do its thing.
Channie gasped and grabbed his arm. “Josh!”
He opened his eyes and grinned at the new message. “I suck.”
“You can’t go around using magic in public. What if someone saw you do that?”
“No one’s here.”
“Josh! Channie! You’re back!” Kassie held her baby-bump as she ran towards them. She nearly knocked Josh off his feet when she shoved his shoulder. “Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been?”
“We just got back last night. It was too late to call anyone.”
“Bull shit!” She shoved him again. “I can’t believe Aunt Marge didn’t call us.”
“Uh … we’re staying at my dad’s. Mom doesn’t know we’re back.” Josh’s stomach twisted into a knot of guilt as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Channie said, “I think I’ll just go on to the office and see if I can meet with my counselor and get squared away for all the school I missed. See you at lunch.”
Josh grabbed her wrist and shook his head. He didn’t blame Channie for wanting to escape before he called Mom, but he wasn’t about to let her walk unprotected across the parking lot. He didn’t think her crazy mother would show up at school, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He dropped his shield over Channie as he hit the number 6 to speed dial Mom.
Channie arched her eyebrows, but she didn’t argue.
Josh took a deep breath to prepare himself. He hated it when Mom cried, but since he was home safe and sound, maybe the waterworks wouldn’t last too long.
“How dare you get married without so much as mentioning it to me!”
“Uh … how did you—”
“I just got off the phone with your father and if you think for one second that I’m not going to fight this you’re crazy. I’m on hold with my lawyer right now, so I can’t talk, but you better believe you haven’t heard the end of this.”
Josh stared at the blank screen then blinked and shoved his phone in his pocket.
Channie said, “What’d she say?”
“You didn’t hear that?” His ears were still ringing from Mom yelling into the phone.
“I hummed a ballad to block it out.”
“Dad told her we got married in Vegas. She’s going to try to get it annulled.”
“Can she do that?”
“No. I’m a legal adult and your dad signed for you.”
Kassie said, “Hold on a minute. I thought you got married in Arkansas.”
Channie said, “We did. But it wasn’t legally binding.”
“So … you ran off to Vegas? To get married?”
Josh nodded.
Kassie grabbed his left hand and examined his wedding band, then squealed and said, “I can’t wait to tell Rebecca!”
Josh put a restraining hand on her shoulder and said, “Kassie, wait. Don’t start spreading this all over school.”
Kassie shrugged his hand off and said, “I’m not going to tell the whole school — just Rebecca,” then jogged towards the main building.
Channie waited until Kassie was out of hearing distance then said, “If you don’t want folks to know, we better take off our wedding bands.”
Josh didn’t need magic to feel the pain rolling off her as she twisted her rings.
“Hey.” He cupped her cheeks in his palms and tilted her head, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I’m not ashamed of marrying you. I’d love to shout it from the rooftop, make a video and post it on YouTube, but I don’t want everyone to think I knocked you up.”
“I don’t care what they think!”
“You say that now, but you don’t know how cruel some of these kids can be.”
“I got a pretty good idea. Kassie’s the one that called me an in-bred hillbilly—”
Josh froze then let his hands slide off Channie’s face and drop to his sides. “Kassie said that?”
“It was months ago — on the first day of school. She didn’t even know me then.”
“That’s no excuse.” Josh loved Kassie like a sister, but he wasn’t blind to her faults. She had a good heart, but she could be a bitch, too.
Channie put a hand on his arm, wrapping her fingers across his bicep. “Please don’t say anything to her. She’s my only friend.”
Josh pressed his hand over hers and said, “All right, babe. I’ll let it go.” This time. He kissed her rings and said, “And promise me you won’t ever take these off.”
Channie’s smile was all the answer he needed.
~***~
Josh and Channie spent all of first period in the office while Josh persuaded their counselors — and the rest of the admin types — to excuse their absences. He thought telling them that he and Channie had gotten married would help convince them, but it only made things more difficult. He’d wanted to punch Mr. Torres when he handed Channie a Planned Parenthood pamphlet.
Josh knew something was wrong, the instant they stepped into the hall. There were whispers in front of them and murmuring behind them, but it was eerily silent in their immediate vicinity. It was if he and Channie were inside a sound-dampening bubble.
It was worse after second period. And by third period, the bubble was gone, no longer protecting him from the buzz of gossip. He ran through the hall, pushing kids out of his way. He had to get to Channie. He expected to find her in tears or fighting like a wild-cat, but she was leaning against the wall outside her second period classroom … giggling.
The crowd of girls surrounding her were all grinning and making that annoying squealing sound girls did when they were excited about something. K
assie was standing next to Channie, with one arm slung over her shoulder possessively. She waved at him and said, “Josh! Come here! Show everyone your ring!”
Josh rolled his eyes and shouldered past the girls to get to Channie. “Hey, babe. Are you okay?”
Someone sighed and said, “Ahhh. That’s so sweet.”
Channie laughed and said, “I’m fine. I was just telling the girls about our Vegas wedding.”
Snippets of conversation floated by too fast to tell who said what.
“That’s so romantic…”
“Just like a fairytale...”
“Or Romeo and Juliette…”
God, I hope not. That didn’t turn out so well.
A male voice cut through the chatter. “So. When’s the baby due?” Eric.
Kassie said, “She’s not pregnant, dumb-ass.”
“Then why’d they get married?” Eric’s voice was full of derision and doubt.
“Because they’re in love. Duh.”
“I hope you don’t expect me to marry you.”
Kassie shoved several girls out of her way to get to Eric. She poked his chest with her index finger, punctuating her words. “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on Earth!” She shoved him away from her with both hands then stormed down the hall. Rebecca and Channie ran after her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SACRIFICE
Kassie was still sobbing when the loud speaker crackled to life. “Chastity Belks, please come to the office. Chastity Belks … Excuse me … Chastity Abrim, please come to the office. Chastity Abrim…”
Kassie hiccuped then giggled. “Sorry. I’m so used to calling you ‘Channie’ I forgot about ‘Chastity.’” She hiccuped again. “I’ll bet Josh didn’t have any trouble talking you into taking his name.”
Channie frowned, but not because of Kassie’s teasing. Why was she being paged? Probably something to do with all the classes she’d missed. Josh had used magic on her counselor but not each of her teachers. “Kassie? Are you okay? I should probably go see what they want before they come looking for me.”
TAKEN: Book Two Page 25