As soon as Channie, Abby, Diego and Hunter were able to convince Josh that Daddy meant her no harm, he lowered his shield … and healed his heart.
It beat all Channie had ever seen. Aunt Wisdom claimed she couldn’t do anything about Daddy’s weak heart. But then again, Aunt Wisdom didn’t really like Daddy.
It took another ten minutes to sort everything out. Channie buried her face in Josh’s greasy coveralls while he explained why they’d been forced to sneak around behind everyone’s back.
“I don’t appreciate being lied to, but I understand. Especially with Prudence acting so strange.”
Josh pressed Channie even tighter against his chest. “Strange? She wants to cut Channie’s heart out and you think it’s strange?”
“Prudence ain’t herself. It ain’t her fault.”
“That’s it. We’re outta here. Hunter, you’re welcome to come with, but we’re leaving right now.”
Hunter’s energy shifted. It was subtle. Channie doubted anyone else noticed, but they’d been friends forever. She knew him better than she knew her own family. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I hate to miss out on more adventures with y’all, but I got me a nice place to live and a good job. I think I’ll stay put for awhile.”
He’s giving up … letting me go.
Hunter winked at her. “Besides, Ms. Jennifer is going to teach me how to go on Safari so I can search for my kinfolk with the new iPhone she got me.”
Daddy arched an eyebrow. “Your family’s definitely on the run, but I doubt any of ‘em got as far as Africa.”
Josh chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think you’ll find any Ozark mages on the internet.”
“Me neither, but I gotta do something.”
Channie was surprised by how much the thought of leaving Hunter behind hurt. “If anyone could hunt ‘em down, it’d be you.”
Josh took a deep breath, then looked at Hunter. “I hate to ask, but … can I borrow some money?”
Hunter nodded, disappeared into his room for a few minutes then returned with a lumpy pillowcase knotted at the top.
Josh rolled his eyes, but he did it with a smile. “I thought I told you to put that in the bank.”
Channie’s jaw dropped when she realized the pillowcase was stuffed full of money.
“I don’t trust banks. Besides, ain’t nobody gonna steal my money with all the protection spells I put on it.”
Channie’s hand flew to her throat. She’d forgotten about the Book of the Dead until Hunter mentioned protection spells.
Hunter smiled and tried to hand the sack full of money to Channie. “Don’t worry. I lifted all the spells. You ain’t gonna get cursed.”
Josh shook his head. “How much is in there? We only need a couple of grand.”
Hunter grabbed Josh’s wrist and thrust the pillowcase into his hand. “You helped me out of a jam more’n once. Take it. There’s plenty more where that come from.”
Channie swallowed then cleared her throat. “Josh. I left in such a hurry. I didn’t bring the Book of the Dead.”
His shoulders slumped. “We can’t leave without that book.”
Daddy glared at Josh. “Not you too.”
“Daddy, the book belongs to Josh.”
“What are you saying?” The color drained from Daddy’s face. “Are you telling me, this here city-boy … is … Valor Veyjivik?”
Daddy ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “I’ll go get the book. Maybe Prudence will come back to her senses once it’s gone.”
Channie said, “Momma’s not going to hand it over without a fight.”
“I know. But she’s still bound by our wedding vows. She’s gonna have to give it to me. I’ll tell her I found a mage that might be able to break the spell so’s she can open it again.”
“She’ll want to come with you.”
“I’ll tell her the mage is a Veyjivik traitor and refuses to let anyone but me see his face. That’s close enough to the truth that she won’t be able to tell I’m fibbing. That woman can spot a lie quicker than a red tail hawk can spot a mouse in an open field.”
“Be careful, Daddy.”
He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m more worried about what she’s gonna do when I come home without the book. She’s downright unstable.”
“Just go get the book and then leave with us. You don’t have to go back there.”
“Now, baby girl, I cain’t leave your momma. Especially not when she needs me the most. I made some wedding vows of my own. And I intend to keep ‘em.”
“Speaking of wedding vows, I’d like to marry Channie before we leave Vegas.”
Daddy glared at Josh. “I thought you two was already married.”
“According to your traditions, we are. But not according to the law. She’s still considered a minor, even in Las Vegas, so I need you to fill out a form.”
Daddy grinned and thumped Josh on the back. “I can scrounge up any kind of document you want.”
“I want this to be legal.”
“You wanna go to one of them Chapels of Love and let Elvis marry you?”
“I’d rather just go to the court house.”
“How about we just pile in the back of Diego’s truck and do one of them drive through chapels. I done missed my baby girl’s binding ceremony. I don’t want to miss her wedding, too.”
“I’m sorry. But I just want to get married and get out of town. I wouldn’t even bother but I have a feeling we’re going to need a marriage certificate.”
Channie said, “I’ve learned it’s best not to ignore his hunches. So far, every time Josh’s said he has a feeling about something, he’s been right.”
Daddy pursed his lips then scratched the stubble under his jaw. “All right. But you need to clean up first, boy. Ain’t nobody gonna marry my daughter looking like no grease monkey.”
Josh grinned and winked at Channie then stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
Hunter groaned and closed his eyes. “Come on, Josh, you know what sort of mess that makes.”
A flare of golden light shot out from under the bathroom door. Josh opened it and stepped back into the room as a cloud of black dust settled behind him.
Daddy swore and put a hand over his heart. “There ain’t a spec of dirt on them coveralls.”
Channie laughed as she wrapped her arms around Josh. “I told you he was amazing.”
After Daddy signed the permission form in front of a public notary, he left to go get the Book of the Dead. Channie was sad that he couldn’t be there to see her get married, even if it was just a formality, but Josh was right. They needed to get out of town as fast as possible.
It took less than an hour to get a marriage license, buy a couple of plain gold wedding bands, find a judge and get married. Hunter, Abby and Diego took pictures with their phones, but Josh made them delete every single one of them when Diego offered to post a wedding album on FaceBook.
“I don’t want to make it easier for Dominance to find us.”
Channie understood, and agreed with him, but she would have given anything to have just one photo of her and Josh on their wedding day.
Josh handed his phone to Hunter. “A couple of pics on my own phone shouldn’t be too big of a security risk.”
Channie threw her arms around Josh’s neck and pulled his head down to hers. She whispered, “thank you,” and kissed him full on the mouth in front of the judge and everybody.
By the time they returned to Hunter and Josh’s apartment, Daddy was back. They found him sitting in the middle of the sofa with his head in his hands. He didn’t even look up when they all filed in.
Channie placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Are you all right?”
“No. Not really.” Daddy sighed then lifted his head and handed her a small, black velvet bag with the “Bellagio” emblem embroidered on it in gold. “But I got the book.”
“Is Momma okay?”
&n
bsp; “She will be. Soon.”
“I hope so.” Channie wished she had Daddy’s faith that all Momma needed to regain her sanity was to be free from the Book of the Dead.
Josh said, “I’ll go grab a few things and give you guys a chance to say good-bye,” then disappeared into his room.
Channie fought tears as she hugged Abby and Diego.
Coco planted a wet kiss on her cheek then pressed his hand over the damp spot. “Don’t rub it off.”
She pressed her hand over the top of his and nodded, too choked up to speak.
Daddy grabbed Channie and squeezed the air out of her. “I know I ain’t said it near enough, but you know I love you baby girl. Take care.”
Channie swallowed hard and forced the words past the lump in her throat. “I love you too, Daddy.”
“I’m sorry your momma couldn’t a been a part of this, but … well … you know.”
“I know.”
Josh came back into the front room, a backpack on his shoulders and a duffle bag in each hand. He dropped one of the bags and reached toward Daddy to shake his hand. “I promise to take good care of her.”
Daddy nodded and cleared his throat as he grabbed Josh’s hand. “You better.”
Josh grimaced.
Hunter stuck his hand out, but instead of shaking it, Channie pulled him into a tight hug.
He stiffened then gave her a quick squeeze. “You take care of yourself, girl. Ya hear?”
Channie couldn’t hide the surge of grief that washed over her as she said good-bye to Hunter. “I wish you were going with us.”
“I’d just be in the way.” He patted Channie’s butt, earning a growl from Josh. “Y’all better hit the road, it’s gettin’ late.”
Channie and Josh talked until they crossed the Utah state line then settled into a companionable silence, lost in their own thoughts. Josh started yawning at about ten o’clock.
Channie put a hand on his shoulder and said, “I can drive for awhile.”
He exited off the highway, on the eastern outskirts of Grand Junction, and pulled into a Marriott Hotel parking lot. But instead of switching places, he leaned across the console, slid his hand behind Channie’s neck and pressed his forehead against hers. “This is our wedding night and we aren’t spending it on the road or in the back of the car.”
MOMMA
PRUDENCE PACED IN FRONT OF the picture window in the front room for hours, waiting for Money … Monroe … to come home with her book. The longer he was gone, the more distraught she became.
She felt the book’s absence like a bad tooth. The ache wouldn’t go away and she couldn’t think of anything else. Life was meaningless without the book. She remembered being a good wife and mother before she’d dug up the grave and pulled the Book of the Dead out of the desiccated corpse.
She remembered, but she didn’t care. She’d existed in a cocoon, safe and happy as a caterpillar, not knowing or caring that there was so much more. But once she’d opened the book, it had opened a whole new world to her. She’d seen beyond the confines of her pathetic cocoon and tasted real power. She wasn’t a caterpillar anymore. But without the Book of the Dead, she couldn’t break free from the chrysalis pinning her wings to her back, crushing her.
This was all Channie’s fault. If the stupid little slut hadn’t stolen the book in the first place, she’d be long gone by now, unfettered by family obligations and binding spells.
The book had given her the ability to change Channie’s power-name. If it could do that, it could release Prudence from her vow of obedience to Money. And once she was free from that burden, she’d let the book go. But she’d do it on her terms.
When she’d first learned of the curse she’d brought down upon herself and her line by taking the book, she’d been willing to let her daughters sacrifice her. She’d been willing to let them replace her beating heart with the book and let it rest for another hundred years inside her rotting corpse.
But that was before Prudence had felt the book’s power flowing through her veins, before she’d glimpsed her own potential, before Channie had stolen it and lost her own powers. She couldn’t ignore the omen. The Book of the Dead was telling her to let Channie take her place. But now the little tramp had run off again.
Abby would feel the full measure of her wrath for interfering as soon as she laid eyes on her. Channie couldn’t get far on her own, and if she thought that pathetic boy, Hunter Feenie, could protect her, she was sadly mistaken.
“What’s taking so long!” Prudence’s voice echoed in the empty house as a chill crept up her spine.
She’d been so anxious to have that offensive name removed that she hadn’t considered the possibility it was a trick. Why would a Veyjivik mage help them? He wanted the book for himself! What if the mage were Valor Veyjivik? As soon as the thought entered her mind she knew it was true. How could she be so stupid?
She slammed the side of her fist against the wall next to the window, making the glass tremble. Rage bubbled into her power-well. Even without the book in her possession, its residual power fueled her magic. She ground her teeth as the neighbor’s rat-sized dog trotted into her yard and squatted in her rose garden to empty its bowels.
Somewhere, deep inside Prudence, a twinge of guilt pricked her conscience as she considered cursing the mutt. The trips loved that stupid little dog, even after it’d nipped all three of them. At the time, she’d sided with the dog. But that was before it started defecating all over her rose garden.
Her rage settled into a cold fury as she released the curse. She thought about her neighbors, searching and calling for their useless pet, and smiled. They’d never guess that the scorched earth in the rose garden was all that was left of the horrid little beast.
Momma’s heart stopped when Money — Monroe — rolled around the corner and pulled into the driveway. Her joy was short-lived when she realized the book was still traveling away from her. So it had been a trick after all. The old fool had let that Veyjivik mage get the better of him. She threw open the door and scanned him for injuries as he slid out from behind the wheel. Not so much as a bruise on his sorry hide.
“Where’s my book?”
Monroe stretched his mouth into a grimace and scratched the whiskers under his chin. “Why don’t we go inside and talk about it.” He sniffed then arched his eyebrows. “Who you been cursing while I was gone?”
Prudence turned her back and walked into the house without answering.
Monroe followed her inside then shut the door. “I know you’re attached to that book—”
“Where is it!” She already knew he’d lost it, but what she didn’t understand is why he was still alive. He must have handed it over without a fight.
He pulled his linen handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his brow. “It’s with its rightful owner.”
Rage blinded Prudence. She blasted Monroe before he got a chance to raise his shield with a bolt of power that should have stopped his feeble heart. Stupid man. Surely he knew what she’d do to him the instant he revealed he’d lost her priceless book. Why hadn’t he shielded himself? He was writhing on the floor and screaming, but why wasn’t he clutching his chest? She pulled her energy back and slapped a combination no-speak-be-still spell on him before he could recover and scanned his heart.
It was normal. Better than normal. It was as strong as a mule’s. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “What did you do?”
He couldn’t answer while he was bound by her magic but she already knew. “You traded my book to a healer, didn’t you!”
She kept the be-still spell in place, but removed the no-speak.
Monroe gasped and sucked in three lungfuls of air before answering. “I didn’t trade the book. I gave it to him and he healed me without me askin’ for no favors.”
The sound of rushing blood behind her ears drowned out the rest of his excuses. She took two steps towards him, cast another no-speak to silence his screams, then kicked his ribs until she felt the
bones give beneath her foot. She paused and lifted the no-speak spell again. “Where’s Channie?”
Monroe pressed his lips together and closed his eyes.
“Answer me.” She needed Channie’s heart, as well as the Book of the Dead, if she was going to escape the curse. She knelt beside him and leaned over to kiss his cheeck. “Return my book, and I’ll let you live.”
Tears leaked out of the corners of Monroe’s eyes. He blinked then looked up at her and smiled through his pain. His energy field pulsed with love and remorse.
Prudence stood up and kicked him one final time … and felt their bond slip away.
ESCAPE
JOSH’S HEART POUNDED AS HE kissed the tip of Channie’s nose. They were on the run and headed into who knew what sort of danger but it’d been two weeks since they’d had sex. He couldn’t wait to get Channie inside the hotel and rip her clothes off. No. None of that. He’d take it slow and make it last. Unless she wanted to take charge again. Damn. He needed to quit thinking about it if he wanted to get out of the car anytime soon. He put his hand on the key, but before he could shut off the engine, a flash of light seared his eyes. His shield burst out of his chest and slammed down over Channie.
She screamed, but the curse bounced off his shield. Scared, not hurt.
Josh jerked the car into gear. The tires squealed as he laid rubber on asphalt. He blinked against the blue spots floating in front of his eyes and swore as he gunned the accelerator.
Channie still had her seatbelt on, but she twisted around and looked over her shoulder. “It’s Momma.”
Josh threaded the gap between two semis as he shot back onto I-70 East. “How’d she find us?”
Channie’s voice shook. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think she’d torture your dad for information?”
“She’s willing to cut out my heart.”
“Good point.”
Another curse bounced off Josh’s shield. The magic didn’t hurt them, but the blast of light nearly blinded him. Traffic wasn’t heavy, but there were enough cars and trucks on the highway to make even a few seconds of driving with impaired vision dangerous. He slammed on the brakes then jerked the wheel to the right, dodging a Smart Car. The horn sounded like an angry gnat as he passed. Prudence’s black Lexus was riding his ass. Josh swore as she hurled another blinding curse.
Believe: The Complete Channie Series Page 56