Enchantment

by Charlotte Abel

  “I’ll tell you what’s going on, you’re gonna get me whipped.”

  She was right of course, Daddy would scold Channie, but he’d take his belt to Abby for not stopping her. “I’m not going to get caught. Unless you tell on me.”

  “I ain’t no snitch.”

  “Daddy told me to go get help if something goes wrong. How am I supposed to know if something goes wrong if I’m stuck in here?”

  “I don’t know, but Daddy said to stay in the bus.”

  Channie pushed a little persuasive magic at Abby.

  She sighed and let go of Channie’s foot. “I wish you wouldn’t do that, lil’ sis. You’re gonna get me in all sorts of trouble.”

  Channie rolled onto her back and grabbed the steering wheel to pull herself between the front seats. The side doors hadn’t worked in years and were bound shut with bailing wire.

  When Channie sat up, her jaw dropped. The cabin was on fire. Black, oily smoke seeped through the cracks between the logs and poured out around the door jamb and window sills.

  She ran to the window and pressed her palms against the glass. The interior of the cabin glowed but she couldn’t see anything through the smoke. There were no flames and no heat. The cabin was not on fire, it was bewitched. Energy pulsed all around Channie. She’d been healed, blessed, bound and even cursed, but this magic was different, unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. It made her dizzy and a little nauseous. She stumbled back to the bus and yanked on the rope holding her bike. “Abby! Get out here and help me get my bike!”

  “No need, baby girl. We’re all done.”

  Channie whirled around. Daddy was sitting on the top porch step, fanning smoke away from his face. Momma stood to the side, clinging to the porch post.

  Channie slid her hand from the base of her throat to her hip. “Good lord, Daddy, you scared the bejeebies outta me.”

  Daddy rocked forward and launched his massive body off the step. “Let’s get outta here.”

  ~***~

  They were about fifty miles west of the Oklahoma state line when the trips fell asleep and Daddy did something he’d never done before. He confessed.

  “I was on a lucky streak, sold all my moonshine the first night and tripled my money playing poker with the boys. Me and Lucky McGee decided to head on down to Hot Springs and play the ponies.” Daddy sighed and wiped the sweat off his brow with a grimy red shop towel.

  “Usually, the tracks, stables, horses and jockeys are shielded from magic, but there was some sort of hullabaloo going on that day with visiting celebrities so the track’s mages were a little distracted. Lucky found a hole in the shield and kept watch while I cast a weakening spell on Dark Magic, the colt favored to win in the fifth race. It would have been okay, except the horse belonged to … a very powerful mage.”

  Channie couldn’t believe Daddy had been so stupid. “How could you not know that a horse named ‘Dark Magic’ belonged to a mage?”

  “Lots of Empties name their horses Magic something-or-other. It don’t mean nothing.”

  Abby said, “Just because a magically disabled person don’t have no powers, don’t mean they’s empty.”

  Channie rolled her eyes and muttered, “Here we go again.” The term Empty had evolved from MD which stood for magically disabled. But most mages used it as an insult. Calling someone a son-of-an-Empty was much worse than saying he was a son-of-a-bitch.

  Momma glared at Abby in the rearview mirror and said, “Don’t interrupt your Daddy,” then nodded at Daddy and said, “Go on. Tell ‘em what happened.”

  Daddy dropped his chin a couple of inches and exhaled loudly, pursing his lips. “Dominance, had already cast a spell to increase the colt’s heart rate and lung capacity before I got to him.”

  “Wait. Are you saying the mage that owns the horse you cursed is … Dominance Veyjivik? The Queen?”

  “The one and only.”

  Channie’s throat tightened around her heart. All the Cumberland Mages were wealthy, powerful, and violent. But the queen, was pure evil. She’d murdered her own family, including her parents, her siblings and even her own son, to seize the throne. She was the reason Hunter’s momma, who was a distant relative of the Veyjiviks, had fled to the Ozarks.

  “Oh Daddy.”

  “I know. Talk about bad luck. The horse probably would have died anyway, but since I cast the weakening spell, I got blamed for it.”

  “He died?”

  “Collapsed on the track going into the final stretch. Killed his jockey too — who just happened to be the old bitch’s grandson.”

  Channie’s mouth went completely dry.

  Daddy sighed again and said. “And to top it all off, the horse I was betting on got tangled up in the mess when Dark Magic went down. I lost everything.”

  Momma’s breath came slow and steady, but shallow. She was tight-lipped, stiff-spined and royally pissed. “The point is … since we can’t raise the money to pay off the blood debt, the Veyjivik clan has sworn to exact vengeance.”

  Abby blinked and put her hand over her heart. “They want to even the score by killing Daddy?”

  Momma cast a pre-emptive be-calm spell on everyone then said, “The Veyjivik’s don’t get even. They get revenge. They plan to make your daddy watch while they torture and kill the rest of us.”

  Daddy shot Momma a look then twisted sideways in his seat and draped his arm over the back. “I don’t want you girls to worry about it. Your Momma used some powerful magic to bewitch the cabin and redirect any tracking spells. We’re going to Colorado, but everyone, including the Veyjivik clan will think we headed east to seek sanctuary with some of my distant kin in Appalachia.”

  Channie’s legs were starting to tingle so she nudged Savvy off her lap, careful not to wake him. “But, we don’t have any kin west of Arkansas. And I’ve never heard of any mage organizations based in Colorado.”

  “Which is exactly why we’re going there. No one will ever suspect a family as magically gifted and deeply rooted as ours would go so far away from home, cut all ties with our clan, and live amongst nothing but Empties.”

  “What do you mean … cut all ties?” Channie’s voice trembled, even though she was still under the influence of Momma’s be-calm spell. “What about Aunt Wisdom?” Truth be told, Channie was closer to Aunt Wisdom than anyone, even her own momma. She’d spent at least a part of every day with her for as long as she could remember. “She knows I’d never leave without saying good bye.”

  Daddy frowned and shook his head. “No one can ever know where we went. It’s as much for their safety as ours. The Veyjivik's are ruthless, but they ain’t stupid. When they discover how hurt and angry everybody is on account of us just up and leaving without a word, they’ll know our kinfolk had nothing to do with it. Their ignorance will protect them as well as us.”

  “How much is the blood debt? If the whole clan pitched in, maybe we could raise enough to satisfy the Veyjivik’s while we earn the rest of it. We could all get jobs.” Even as she suggested it, Channie knew it was futile. The Veyjivik’s wouldn’t care whether or not mage law demanded they accept gold in lieu of blood for payment. They’d still want revenge.

  “That’s right kind of you, baby girl, but there’s no way we could earn that kind of money. In addition to the blood debt, Dominance is demanding I reimburse her for the horse. That’s why I was gone so long. I had to find a safe place for us to start over and get new documents.” Daddy patted a large brown envelope on his lap. “I changed our last name to Belks.”

  “Belks? Seriously?”

  “I wanted to change it to Belts, but Lucky convinced me that Money Belts was a little too obvious, especially since we’ll be living amongst Empties. They have no sense of humor when it comes to names. In fact, I’ll be going by Monroe. The rest of y'all can use your first names or nicknames, but Money is too unusual for a man on the run.”

  ~***~

  The be-calm spell wore off just outside of Tulsa. Savvy, Courage a
nd Zeal woke up cranky and fought all the way across Kansas. The little monsters didn’t fall asleep again until just before sunrise outside of Denver. Channie closed her eyes for the first time in what felt like forever. She was almost asleep when Momma turned off the engine and said, “Well, we’re here.”

  Daddy said, “Welcome to Louisville, Colorado,” and opened his door.

  The trips burrowed through the clutter like gophers and crawled over Momma and Daddy to escape the confines of the bus. Channie was right behind them but waited for Momma and Daddy to get out first. All three boys had dropped their pants and were peeing on the back wheel of the bus.

  Channie stretched and looked around. Aunt Wisdom had shown her pictures of places like this, but no photograph could capture the magnificence that surrounded her. The houses were ginormous. And well kept. They were freshly painted in muted colors that complimented the scenery. There were no sagging porches, no rusting vehicles on cement blocks, no chickens, goats or pigs either. She counted eight windows on the front of a single house. There wasn’t so much as a dandelion in anyone’s yard. But the yards were tiny, smaller than Momma’s kitchen garden back home. Did these folks buy all their groceries in town? That’d be awful expensive. But if you could afford one of these houses, you’d probably be rich enough to buy just about anything you wanted.

  The trips were done peeing, but no one told them to get back in the bus. Channie said, “Why are we stopping here?”

  Daddy pointed at the “For Rent” sign in the yard of a huge two-story house with a rock facade. It was on the end of the street next to a large park with a well equipped playground.

  Channie’s jaw dropped. “Are we going to live here?”

  “That’s the plan, baby girl.” Daddy chuckled and gave Channie’s shoulder a squeeze then said, “Why don’t you and Abby take the boys to the park for some fresh air while your momma and me see if we can’t find us a payphone. We need to call these good people and set up a meeting face to face.”

  Channie was thrilled with the prospect of living in a mansion, but she felt sorry for these ‘good people.’ Even though you couldn’t force a person to do something against their will, you could push them a long ways down a path they’d already chosen. Especially if they were Empties with no defense against magic. These folks already wanted to rent their house, so it wouldn’t be hard for Momma and Daddy to steal it out from under them. They’d still have to pay rent, but it wouldn’t be anything close to what the house was actually worth.

  They’d been at the park for less than an hour when Channie heard Daddy’s shrill whistle.

  Momma opened the combination lock on a brass box hanging from the doorknob and pulled out a key. Her eyes shone as she unlocked the door and stepped inside. Daddy was right on her heels. The first thing he did was flip off the porch light. “I couldn’t convince the Whitcomb’s to keep paying the utility bills on this here place, so don’t nobody turn on any lights or other appliances or I’ll lay into your behinds with a switch. See that tree out front? They don’t call it a weeping willow for nothing.” Everyone nodded their heads.

  “It’s just as easy to light a candle or a kerosene lamp as it is to flip a switch and a whole lot less expensive. Money don’t grow on trees.”

  Where was the money coming from? Back home, Momma and Abby drove the bus into town once a week to sell eggs and herbal remedies. They earned enough cash to buy the things they couldn’t make, shoot or grow, like gas, kerosene and shoes. Daddy’s moonshine brought in a fair amount of cash, but he gambled it away as fast as he got it. Even if he found a place to hide his still, Channie doubted it’d bring in enough money to pay the bills.

  ~***~

  Channie and Abby took the trips back to the park while Momma and Daddy settled in. They sat on picnic tables under the pavilion while the boys played, fought and scared off all the other kids.

  Abby had been in a foul mood ever since they left and Channie was sick of it.

  “What the hell is your problem?”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  Enchantment’s magic grew warm inside Channie’s belly, instinctively rising to the challenge. It softened both her demeanor and tone of voice as it flowed out of her. “I might, if you told me what’s wrong.”

  Abby raised her shield before Enchantment’s magic touched her and stared straight ahead.

  “Whatever.” Channie hopped off the table, dusted the back of her jeans with her palms and walked towards the baseball field. Five minutes later, she was surrounded by boys. She was flattered, even though she knew it was only because of her name. She probably should have pulled Enchantment’s magic back into her power-well, but it took a considerable amount of energy to restrain it once it was active. Besides, she didn’t want to.

  Thanks to Abby's mistakes, Channie wasn’t allowed to date. The boys at home had flirted with her at the monthly clan gatherings. But Hunter was the only one so far that had tried to court her — if that’s what you could call his attempt to seduce her at the bauxite quarry.

  Channie wasn’t romantically interested in any of these Empties. She was just having fun, basking in their devotion as they filled the air with lustful energy and vied for her attention.

  “Enchantment?” Daddy’s voice startled her. She’d been so distracted, she hadn’t felt him sneak up on her. He narrowed his eyes and glared at each of the boys. Not a single one of them paid him no nevermind. They only had eyes for Channie. Daddy leveled his gaze at her and said, “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Talking?”

  “Get on home.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Daddy kept his shield up and didn’t say a word as he followed her back to the house. But when they got inside, he said, “Go on upstairs. I need to talk to your Momma.”

  “We were just talking. I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

  “Them boys was Empties.”

  “This whole state is nothing but Empties. We can’t avoid them forever. I start school tomorrow. Half the students will be boys.” Channie meant it as a joke, but Daddy didn’t laugh.

  He rubbed his forehead with his fingers and groaned out loud, as if he were in physical pain. “Go to your room, and don’t come out until I call for you.”

  There wasn’t so much as a stick of furniture in Channie’s room. All she had was her pillow case full of books, a couple of blankets and a quilt. She made a little nest for herself and curled up on the floor with her tattered copy of “David Copperfield.” She considered casting a listen-up spell on herself, but if Daddy called for her before the scent of magic dissipated, she’d be in even more trouble for eavesdropping.

  “Channie?” Abby's voice woke her up. “Momma and Daddy wanna see you downstairs.”

  Channie yawned and opened her eyes. Abby was standing in the doorway, a candle in one hand, her flashlight — a birthday gift from Aunt Wisdom — in the other. How long had she been asleep? “Am I in trouble?”

  “I don’t know. They was holed up in their room when me and the trips got back from the park. I ain’t heard no hollering anyways.” Abby tucked her flashlight under her arm to light the candle then squatted down and handed it to Channie. “What’d you do?”

  “I didn’t do anything! Except talk to a few boys.”

  “Oh.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You want some advice, lil sis?”

  Channie nodded.

  “Don’t argue or interrupt, no matter what they say. Just let ‘em get it out of their systems. All you can do is pretend to repent, beg their forgiveness and hope they don’t curse you.”

  Channie rolled her eyes. “Thanks a lot. That makes me feel so much better.”

  Abby smiled and said, “You’re welcome,” without the least bit of sarcasm.

  ~***~

  Momma and Daddy were in the parlor, sitting together on the sofa, holding hands in a rare display of unity.

  Daddy said, “We got something to tell you, bab
y girl, and we want you to stay calm.”

  His words were ominous enough, but when Momma and Daddy both raised their shields, Channie’s heart leapt into her throat. Daddy said, “Your momma and me—”

  “Momma and I.”

  Daddy usually laughed when Channie reflexively corrected his grammar — it was sort of a running joke between them — but this time he just sighed and said, “Your momma and I … we decided … oh, hell, there ain’t no easy way to break this to you.”

  Momma snorted through her nose and said, “Daddy and I are changing your name.”

  Channie’s mouth popped open. “What?”

  “You heard me. We’re changing your power-name. Enchantment’s magic is too … seductive.”

  “You want to change my name on account of them boys in the park? That ain’t fair.” When she got upset, Channie had a tendency to forget her schooling and regress to her native dialect. “Ever single one of them Empties come up to me and started talking. I didn’t do a dang thing to encourage ‘em.”

  If Momma wasn’t such a sourpuss all the time, Channie would have thought they were pulling her leg. Folks took up to a year deciding on a baby’s name to be sure they found one that matched the child’s personality. Once given, a name wasn’t changed. Not even when it caused severe problems like … say … a gambling addiction that forced you to uproot your entire family and move them halfway across the country to keep ‘em from being murdered.

  Channie’s heart thundered against her ribs. Enchantment’s magic surged and poured out of her, but with Momma and Daddy already shielded all it did was prove their point and drain Channie’s energy.

  Momma and Daddy shared a look that was part regret, part pity and a hundred percent determined.

  “Look, all I did was talk to a couple of boys. Abby's the one that went and got herself knocked up. If you want to change someone’s power-name, change hers. It ain’t fair to punish me for something she did!”

  The lines around Momma’s eyes deepened. “We ain’t punishing nobody. We’re only trying to protect you. Be reasonable.”