They drove another quarter mile and found Vince leaning against Josh’s Rav4. Everyone, but the trips, piled out of the van.
Vince reached for Josh with both arms, but changed his mind at the last second and shook his hand instead. He must have noticed Josh’s uneasiness and decided to spare him the awkwardness of hugging him in front of Dad.
After a round of greetings they got down to business. Josh turned towards Vince. “Did you tell Channie that you were leaving and that Hunter would be in charge while you were gone?”
“I dropped in on her right after you called this afternoon. But I didn’t tell her who was coming. I just told her that an associate of mine would check on her.”
It was nine-thirty, now, so that meant Channie had been worrying about who might be checking on her for eight and a half hours. Josh had resisted the urge to connect with her through their bond. He didn’t want her to sense his closeness and worry about him falling into Vince's trap.
Hunter chuckled. “Is she going to try to conk me over the head with a frying pan or something?”
“Probably.” Vince didn’t even crack a smile. “You need to be careful. There aren’t any guns or sharp knives in the house, but Channie is resourceful. Make sure she recognizes you before she has a chance to kill you.”
Hunter nodded. “Will do.”
“It’s been a long day.” Josh yawned and stretched, but everyone saw through his ploy to move things along a little faster.
Dad laughed as he pulled Josh into another hug. “Be careful, son.”
“I will.”
“And don’t worry about Channie’s nephews. We’ll take good care of them.”
Josh cringed. He’d forgotten about the stinging spells that had covered Diego in welts. “I should have warned you about these guys.”
Dad chuckled. “I’m sure they’re a handful, but they can’t be any worse than you or Elijah.”
“Actually…they’re a lot worse. They can’t control their magic when they get upset.”
“Already?” Vince's eyes widened. “They can’t be more than five years old.”
“What do you mean they can’t control their magic?” Dad glanced at the trips then returned his attention to Josh. “I won’t put Liz in danger.”
Liz cupped Dad’s cheek with her palm. “It’s okay, Ezra. Look at them. They’re just children.”
Josh knew that Dad was picturing Liz after she’d been attacked.
Vince said, “Even if they wanted to hurt someone, they don’t have the ability to do more than surface damage.”
“Surface damage?” Dad narrowed his eyes.
“Stinging spells, itching spells, that sort of thing. Annoying and uncomfortable, but not dangerous.”
“I’ve got an idea.” Josh grinned as he remembered something Hunter had told him. “Before I knew I was a mage, Channie made a shield for me, to protect me from her chastity curse and her parents. I can do the same for you and Liz.”
Hunter wrinkled his nose and cocked his head to the side. “That ain’t gonna work.”
“Why not?”
“Your shield tapped into your energy without you even knowing it. Ezra and Liz ain’t got no powers to draw on. Any shield you build for them is gonna need to be recharged at least once a day.”
“Damn.” Josh looked at Vince. “Can you do it?”
“I can when I’m around, but I really do need to leave. There’s still a war going on and we can’t afford to relax our recruiting efforts.”
“I can do it.” CoCo’s sleepy voice wafted out of the van. The sound dampening spell must have worn off.
Josh poked his head inside. “Hey, you’re awake.”
CoCo’s lip trembled but his eyes remained dry. “We didn’t mean to hurt Daddy. It was an accident.”
“I know, kiddo. It’s okay.” Josh’s throat clamped shut as guilt washed over him. These poor kids had lost both their parents in less than a month’s time.
“If you build a shield for our new momma and daddy, I’ll recharge it every morning, I promise.”
Wow. Where did that come from? Josh had told them that Liz and Ezra would be taking care of them, but he hadn’t mentioned adoption.
Liz leaned into the van then unbuckled CoCo and lifted him into her arms.
CoCo clung to her like a baby chimp and buried his face in her shoulder.
“CoCo?” Josh cleared his throat, but his voice remained rough as gravel. “Do you have enough control to do something like that?”
CoCo lifted his head and nodded then hid his face in Liz’s shoulder again.
Ezra coughed into his fist. His voice cracked when he spoke and it took him a few tries to get the words out. “Make my shield first. Just in case…”
Josh glanced at Vince out of the corners of his eyes.
Vince smiled and nodded. “It’s okay. A shield is defensive magic. It won’t hurt you.”
Josh closed his eyes and groaned. “My shield is different than most mages.”
“That’s right!”
Josh opened his eyes, surprised by Hunter’s enthusiasm.
“The first day at Freedom Ridge, Josh expanded his shield to protect me and…” Hunter’s face fell. Tears filled his eyes. “He…”
Josh rested a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. Shep’s loss was still too raw for both of them. “The mage in charge of training is a bit of a hard ass. It’s a long story, but my shield absorbs energy when I’m under attack. I got a little overloaded and had to redirect the power so I blew up a tree.”
Josh didn’t want to go into details or tell how he’d used his shield to kill an entire camp full of enemy mages. The less Ezra and Liz knew about that stuff the better.
Vince shot Josh a questioning look. He obviously knew there was more to the story and would insist Josh tell him all about it later; but at least he wasn’t going to pursue it now. “I still think it’s safe. In fact, I think you’ll be able to give them a little extra protection because of your unique abilities.”
Josh’s sapphire warmed the skin over his heart as he considered creating a shield for someone else. Something told him that it was safe and important that he do it.
Creating a shield was easy. Getting it to stay in place was not.
Vince said, “Try anchoring it to his energy field.”
Josh focused on the shimmering light surrounding Dad. He recognized anxiety and frustration but that energy wouldn’t always be active. He dug deeper and found a quiet, steady glow. He created another shield and imagined it merging with the energy of Dad’s love. The shield snapped into place with a distinctive pop.
Dad’s eyes widened. “Wow.”
“How do you feel?”
Dad grinned. “Absolutely amazing.”
Now that Josh understood the process, attaching Liz’s shield was just as easy as creating it.
She had the same awestruck reaction. “If you wanted to sell these things, you could make a fortune.”
Josh gripped Liz’s arms and gave her a gentle shake. “You can’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t.” She smiled and patted Josh’s hand. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“He’s right, Liz.” Dad slipped his hand around her waist. “The man that attacked you is still out there…” Dad’s eyes widened. He turned to Josh. “Will these shields protect us from those…what did you call them…trackers?”
Vince shook his head. “It will slow them down, but without a direct link to a source of power, your shields will fail under a sustained attack.”
“You need to avoid trackers at all costs.” Josh gave Dad and Liz another hug. He kissed the top of CoCo’s head then woke Savvy and Zeal to say good-bye to them as well.
Both boys burst into tears.
Josh didn’t want to cast a calming spell on them if he didn’t have to, so he combed through their curls with his fingers and whispered assurances in a soothing tone but they didn’t calm down until he promised to come see them soon.
Dad pulled Jo
sh into one more hug, squeezing the air out of his lungs. “Those little guys have been through hell, but kids are resilient.”
“Thanks for agreeing to take them, and for keeping them together.”
“Of course.” Dad smiled as he slipped into the van. He pointed at Josh. “I’ll see you on Friday.”
Channie dug through the bits of satin and lace in the top drawer, but couldn’t find anything even remotely modest. “What’s the point?”
She slammed the drawer shut and got dressed sans underwear, choosing the baggiest sweatpants and t-shirt she could find in the closet. She grinned at her very unsexy reflection in the mirror. “There. That’s better.”
She slipped her bare feet into a pair of forest green Uggs. No wonder Kassie wore the fur-lined boots all the time, indoors and out. Not only were they warm, she felt as if she were walking on clouds.
Bang, bang, bang.
Channie yelped and clutched her hands in front of her chest. Vince's associate was knocking on the door.
“Channie? Are you in there? Open up. It’s me, Hunter.”
“Hunter?” She raced downstairs and looked through the peephole. “Hunter!”
She yanked the door open and flung herself into his arms.
He pulled her hard against his chest. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“How’d you find me?” Channie let go and tried to step away, but Hunter clung to her, trembling.
“I’ll always find you.”
Hunter’s declaration, coupled with his overly enthusiastic embrace, shocked Channie. She wormed her forearms in front of her braless chest, but Hunter only held on tighter.
Channie didn’t need magic to feel Hunter’s emotions churning just beneath the surface. A few of them so strong, they leaked into his energy field where they were easy to identify: grief, remorse, loneliness, despair, but surprisingly and thankfully, no lust.
“Hunter.” Channie tapped his shoulder. “Let go.”
He gradually relaxed his death-grip then stepped away from Channie. “Sorry.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, Channie.” Hunter lifted his chin and gazed at her with such grief it stopped her heart. His green eyes swam with tears. “I didn’t want to start off this way.”
Channie’s first thought was that something horrible had happened to Josh. She reached out to him through their bond and nearly fainted with relief when she felt him there, but her anxiety spiked when he immediately shut down the connection. “What is it? Just tell me.”
Hunter swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. “Can we go inside and sit down?”
“Of course.”
Hunter sank into the leather cushions of the sofa and rested his elbows on his knees. He stared at his hands, hanging loose between them. “It’s Shep.”
“What about him?” Channie perched on the edge of the armchair.
“He’s dead.”
Channie’s chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. She shook her head in denial. “No. Not Shep.”
Hunter nodded. “Steward, too.”
“How?”
“I wasn’t there. But I heard all about it from them that survived.” Hunter seemed to retreat within himself. He wrapped his arms around his waist and hunched over like an old man. His voice dropped to a monotone whisper as he retold the story of the ‘Black Mountain Rescue.’
Channie grieved for the ones that had died, but her heart bled for their families. She knew what they were going through. Daddy’s death didn’t feel real yet—and she’d have to deal with that someday soon—but Abby’s lifeless body invaded Channie’s dreams on a nightly basis. She knew she’d never recover from that horror.
But when Hunter told how Josh had disarmed everyone, friend and foe, with magic and then used his shield to obliterate the enemy against unimaginable odds, a warm glow of pride and gratitude soothed the ache. “Josh is a hero?”
Hunter nodded. “He’s definitely growing into his power-name. He’s more Valor than Josh now.”
Tears stung Channie’s eyes. The Book of the Dead had declared that Josh had one year to ‘learn and grow’ but she hadn’t fully realized what that meant, until now. She’d fallen in love with sweet, shy Joshua Abrim—not Valor Veyjivik, the war hero.
“Channie?” Hunter leaned forward and rested three fingers on her knee. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and blinked back the tears but couldn’t keep her voice from wavering. “Losing his memories of me was part of the plan all along.”
“Josh’s memories are suppressed, not lost. And even if they were, he still loves you. He will always love you.”
“Because of our bond.”
Hunter frowned. “You’re acting like that’s a bad thing.”
“Josh is bound to me. He doesn’t love me. How can he? He doesn’t even know me.”
“When me and Josh shared that apartment in Vegas, we got pretty close. He told me more than once the story of how y’all met. He said it was love at first sight.”
Channie closed her eyes, too ashamed to look at Hunter. “I used a come-hither spell on him to make him kiss me.”
“He told me.” Hunter chuckled. “I wish I could’ve been there to see it.”
Channie knew that Hunter used humor as a defense mechanism. She’d often admired the way he could laugh even when consumed with emotional pain. This was not one of those times. “It wasn’t funny then and it’s certainly not funny now.”
Hunter sobered up immediately. “You know you can’t use magic to make someone love you. Josh fell for you because you’re sweet, smart, funny, sassy and sexy as hell. You’re still the same girl.”
“But Josh isn’t the same boy. You said it yourself…he’s more Valor than Josh.”
“That was an exaggeration. I just meant that he’s…I don’t know…braver? More serious about following his destiny. His power-name is influencing him, sure, but he’s still Josh.”
“The Book of the Dead changes people. Look what it did to Momma.”
“Your momma had no right to use that book in the first place.” Hunter leaned forward and took Channie’s hands in his. “Ms. Wisdom said that as long as the Book of the Dead has Valor Veyjivik’s name on the cover, it ain’t gonna hurt Josh. And I’m telling you, that boy ain’t never gonna stop loving you.”
“He’s right.”
Channie gasped as her heart-bond leapt out of her chest. She shot out of her chair and whirled around to find Josh leaning against the doorframe. Her hands flew to her mouth.
Josh rubbed the back of his neck as a crimson flush spread across his cheeks.
Channie’s heart swelled with joy as tears filled her eyes. He might be Valor Veyjivik, but only Josh Abrim would blush like that. She ran across the room and threw herself into his arms.
He hesitated for half a second then tugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. That was also pure Josh.
Channie inhaled deeply, pulling his unique scent of lemons, sandalwood and musk into her lungs. His heart pounded against her cheek, beating in tandem with her own. Their bond lit up the room.
Horror replaced joy as Channie realized that Josh had just fallen into Vengeance’s trap. She pushed away from him, ripping her heart in two. “You can’t be here. You need to go.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You don’t understand! It’s a trap.”
Josh arched his eyebrows. “Didn’t Hunter explain it to you?”
Hunter scratched the back of his head. “I hadn’t quite gotten around to that part, yet.”
“What part? What’s going on? And how did either of you make it past the protection spells?” A sense of dread crashed down on Channie. She’d been so excited by Hunter and Josh’s arrival, she hadn’t stopped to consider how they’d done it. “If the protection spells don’t work, then I have to leave. I have to escape and turn myself over to Momma.”
“Slow down there, girl.” Hunter extended a hand as if trying to calm a skittish colt. “T
he protection spells work exactly the way Vince wants them to. Me and Josh are the only ones that can pass through without Vince. You’re stuck here until he decides otherwise.”
“How do you know any of that?”
“Because I’m Vince's right-hand man.”
“How do you even know Vengenace Veyjivik? And why would you work with him?”
“Remember when I told you I was working as a double agent, pretending to work for the Veyjiviks so I could feed them false information and pass their secrets on to Ms. Wisdom?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, I’m doing it again. Only this time the only person I’m spying on is Vince and the only one I’m reporting to is Josh.” Hunter leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “Vince thinks I’m hunting for his long-lost son, but instead I’m sneaking him in to see you. Pretty neat, huh?”
“I don’t understand. How did he exclude Josh from the protection spells?” It required a drop of the person’s blood.
Hunter’s eyes widened. He licked his lips and glanced at Josh then grinned and pointed at himself. “Trusted associate, remember?”
“So you what? Told Vengeance that you snuck up on Josh, poked him with a needle and stole a drop of his blood?”
“Something like that.”
“What if Vengeance comes back early?”
“He’s not coming back. He put me in charge of you. Besides, he calls me at least once a day to check in.”
“But that’s to check up on you, right? Why would he tell you his business?”
Josh cleared his throat. “Hunter’s also sort of an assistant. Vince would call him if he decided to come back here so Hunter would have time to change the sheets in the master bedroom and stuff.”
“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” Channie turned around within the circle of Josh’s arms so she could gaze into his dark blue eyes as her own filled with tears.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I hope those are happy tears.”
She shook her head. “I have to try to escape and get back to Momma or my death pledge will kill me. Will you help me?”
“No. I can’t help you escape, even if I wanted to. And I most certainly don’t! Hunter, Vince and I are the only ones that can safely pass through the protection spells.”
Believe: The Complete Channie Series Page 89