Channie remembered the last time Hunter had suggested they get “warmed up” and hoped he’d keep that story to himself.
He bounded up the steps onto the porch and held the door open, ushering Channie and Josh inside as if he owned the place.
Josh did a complete three hundred and sixty degree inspection, tilting his head up and down as he turned. “So … this is your home.”
Channie’s cheeks and ears burned. “I told you it was a shack.”
Josh slid his fingers across the polished surface of the knotty pine support beam that divided the kitchen from the front room. “It’s so … authentic.”
Channie rolled her eyes.
“No, I mean it. My dad spent a fortune on the log cabin he bought in Breckenridge and it’s not anywhere near as cool as this place.” He inhaled deeply, expanding his chest. “It feels … alive.”
Hunter’s eyebrows pulled together as he glanced at Channie. “Are you sure he’s not … you know …?”
Josh said, “I’m not a mage, but I know about magic.”
Hunter folded his arms across his chest and said, “I wouldn’t go advertising that fact if I were you.”
The color drained from Josh’s panic stricken face. He said, “Channie didn’t have anything to do with me finding out. Her dad told me about magic.”
“Josh. That’s not true.”
Hunter said, “Your secret’s safe with me, just don’t tell anyone else. Not that there’s anyone left to tell.”
“Where is everyone?”
“In hiding. When the Cumberland mages couldn’t find your Daddy, they declared war on all of us.”
Josh grabbed Channie’s hand and headed for the door.
Hunter cast a mild be-calm spell and said, “You’ll be safe here for another couple of weeks. Cumberland trackers stop by to check on things about once a month. They were here yesterday.”
Josh said, “Why aren’t you in hiding?”
Hunter blushed and looked at his feet. “Miss Wisdom talked me into contacting my momma’s kin and telling them that I wanted to switch sides. That’s why I’m living here. I’m sort of a spy. She’ll come by here later tonight to see if I’ve learned anything new.”
Channie grabbed the support beam to keep from falling over as everything clicked into place.
Josh grabbed her arms and pulled her against his chest. “Channie? What’s wrong, babe?”
“Hunter … is a royal mage.”
~***~
Josh led Channie into the kitchen then held her on his lap while she told Hunter about the Book of the Dead and the curse she and Josh were under.
Hunter put his elbows on the kitchen table and leaned forward. “So … you want me to marry you?”
No. Channie did not want to marry Hunter, but it wasn’t just her life on the line. She closed her eyes and shattered all her dreams with a single word. “Yes.”
Josh placed his palm on her cheek, pressing her head against his chest and said, “It will be alright, Channie. Nothing has to change. Marry him to break the curse, but stay with me.”
Hunter said, “I never had any plans of being faithful to just one woman anyway, no matter who I married. I won’t hold it against you if you want to see him on the side. As long as you don’t rub it in my face.”
Josh’s grip around Channie’s waist tightened. “She won’t be seeing anyone on the side. All you have to do is marry her. It’s a simple contract, sign the paper, say ‘I do,’ and then we’ll leave. I’ll have my Dad fax you the divorce papers. You’ll never see us again.”
Hunter shook his head. “There’s no divorce in our world and a marriage ain’t real until after the couple do the deed. It completes the binding spell, linking their heart-of-hearts.”
Josh’s entire body stiffened. His heart hammered beneath Channie’s hand.
“Is that true?”
Channie couldn’t bear to look at him. She nodded. She didn’t know everything about marriage binding spells, but she knew that much.
“Fine …” Josh’s voice broke. He swallowed three times before continuing and when he did, it sounded as if he’d swallowed broken glass. “If that’s how it has to be …I guess … I’ll just have to deal with it. But the minute you’re done, I want you out of her bed and I don’t ever want you to touch her again.”
Hunter folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. “That’s not how it works. Once our heart-of-hearts are bound together, we’ll have to do it at least once a month. Since Channie’s lost her powers, she’s going to be a drain on mine. We’ll probably have to do it more often. Maybe even once a week.”
By now Josh was trembling with rage. Channie said, “Hunter! A little help, please?”
He smirked at her then cast a be-calm spell at Josh. His trembling stopped, but Channie could tell he was still angry.
Hunter leaned forward and said, “Look, I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for all of us. Channie doesn’t want to marry me, and I don’t really want to marry her either. But if we don’t work this out, Channie could die. And I know you don’t want that.”
“No.” Josh went limp, his hand slid from Channie’s waist to her hip. “I don’t.”
Hunter said, “Look, if it will make it any easier, after the wedding, I’ll leave as soon as I’m done, like you suggested. You can take over and do all that cuddly stuff women seem to need after sex. And if you don’t mind sloppy seconds—”
Josh stood up so fast he nearly dumped Channie on the floor. He took one step towards Hunter but then seemed to change his mind. For a second, Channie was afraid he might try to draw the gun and shoot him. He didn’t. He spun around and punched the wall, leaving behind a smear of blood on the curved surface of the log.
Channie’s eyes filled with tears. “Josh, don’t.”
He hit the log again and screamed, “I hate this! I hate magic! And I hate that goddamned book!”
~***~
The front door burst open and Aunt Wisdom flew across the room. She cast a be-calm spell on Josh that knocked him out cold then magically lowered him to the floor.
Hunter whistled, low and long. “Wow. I’d heard you could levitate people, but I never believed it until now.”
Aunt Wisdom swayed on her feet then collapsed onto the pine bench under the window. A spell like that would have drained even the strongest mage. It was a wonder she was still conscious.
She nodded at Josh’s limp body and said, “Who is that and what’s he doing here?”
Channie knelt beside Josh and brushed the curls off his forehead. He smiled, but did not open his eyes. She sat cross-legged on the floor and cradled his head in her lap then looked up at Aunt Wisdom. “His name’s Josh Abrim and he’s my …” boyfriend didn’t even begin to describe what Josh meant to her. “He’s the love of my life.”
Aunt Wisdom arched her eyebrows and said, “Why was he so angry?”
Channie told her an abbreviated version of the story.
Aunt Wisdom shook her head and sighed. “I swear, this family is cursed when it comes to love.” She stood up and said, “I need to go lie down for a bit. Hunter, do you think you can carry Josh up to the loft and put him in Channie’s bed? It’s going to be a while before that spell wears off.”
~***~
Channie followed Hunter up the ladder and tucked Josh into her bed. She knew Hunter was watching, but she didn’t care. She leaned over and kissed Josh’s forehead then brushed her lips across his softly parted mouth. He sighed and kissed her back. It was sweet, but without passion. He was still asleep.
She smoothed his brow with her fingers.
Hunter squatted beside Channie and cleared his throat. “Look, I know right now, you don’t want me in your bed, but this won’t be my first time. I know what I’m doing. If you just relax a little, I can open your eyes to a whole world of pleasure.”
He tried to tuck a strand of Channie’s hair behind her ear, but as soon as she felt his fingers brush her cheek, she recoile
d as if he’d slapped her.
Hunter shrugged his shoulders and stood up. “I thought I was doing you a favor … marrying you to break the curse, but I ain’t gonna take you by force.”
Channie bowed her head, then stood up and squeezed Hunter’s shoulder. “You are doing me a huge favor. And you won’t have to take me by force. Just don’t expect me to enjoy it.”
“You really love him, don’t you.”
“You have no idea.”
“It will be a serious blow to my ego, but I’m willing to cast a come-hither spell on you after the wedding, so you can enjoy it.”
“I don’t want to enjoy it.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it if you just lay there like a cold fish.”
Maybe boys weren’t all that different from girls after all. “I’ll do my best, Hunter. Just … be patient.”
His grin returned. “That’s all I’m asking.”
Channie forced herself to reach up and touch Hunter’s cheek. “I’d like to spend the next few days with Josh. If you don’t mind.”
“Sure. I have some things I need to take care of anyway.”
Probably had to cancel a couple of dates. Channie didn’t care. In fact, she hoped Hunter didn’t burn any bridges. The more he tomcatted around, the less time he’d spend in her bed.
~***~
Channie waited until she heard Hunter leave, then crawled into bed with Josh. She stroked his cheek with her fingers and bit back a sob. It was so unfair. They could finally touch without pain, but it was too late. She kissed him again then got out of bed and went into Momma and Daddy’s room, where Aunt Wisdom was resting. The bed was unmade, but she was lying on top of the covers. Hunter’s clothes were scattered across the floor. It was obvious, this was his room now.
Aunt Wisdom sat up and said, “Tell me everything that’s happened since Abby ran away.”
Channie’s heart skipped a beat. “Is she here?”
“She was, but she’s in Mexico now.”
“What is she doing in Mexico?”
“Diego thought it would be safer to get her out of the country until things settle down.”
“He knows about magic?”
“He does now.”
“What about the trips?” Even though Abby had deserted them once already, it was hard to believe she’d leave the country without them.
“I convinced her they’d be safer wherever they are for the time being. I assume they’re with your parents?” Aunt Wisdom held her hand up, palm out. “Don’t tell me. The less we know about each other’s whereabouts, the better. I move around a lot and suggest you do the same.”
Channie felt guilty for deserting the trips. She wasn’t any better than Abby. If she survived this mage war, she’d go back to Colorado and get them. She didn’t care if Hunter agreed or not, she’d raise the boys as her own.
Aunt Wisdom said, “Tell me more about the anti-tracking spell your parents cast. Neither of them have the ability or intelligence to create such a perfect and subtle spell.”
She listened without saying a word as Channie told how Momma had retrieved the Book of the Dead. She decided not to mention the horrible curse Momma triggered when she took the book since she wasn’t in any immediate danger. One disaster at a time.
Aunt Wisdom said, “I knew that grave had been disturbed but never, in my wildest dreams, would I have imagined that Prudence had the gumption to retrieve a Book of the Dead. I was scared to death it had fallen into the hands of our enemies.”
“Momma and Daddy used the book to change my power-name to Chastity.”
“They did what!”
“They were afraid I was going to get knocked up like Abby.”
“So … instead of using an infertility spell … they cursed you?”
Channie nodded.
Aunt Wisdom scooted over and patted the mattress. “What happened?”
Channie crawled onto the bed and laid her head on Aunt Wisdom’s shoulder. “I kept repeating, ‘my name is Enchantment’ during the spell and a small part of it escaped into my heart-of-hearts when Chastity took over my power-well.”
“I’ll work with you and teach you to use heart magic to strengthen Enchantment. It won’t be the same, but—”
“I can’t. I …” Channie refused to cry, but she couldn’t hide her distress from Aunt Wisdom.
She smoothed Channie’s hair then kissed the top of her head, just like Josh did whenever she was upset. It took all of Channie’s self-control to keep from sobbing. A wave of calm washed over her, followed by a ripple of guilt. Aunt Wisdom was still too weak from levitating Josh. She shouldn’t be casting spells, even though it helped Channie continue.
She felt disconnected from the story, as if it had happened to someone else and told it without emotion or vocal inflection.
Tears flowed down Aunt Wisdom’s cheeks when Channie described how she’d sacrificed Enchantment’s magic to kill Harvey. By the time Channie finished, Aunt Wisdom looked as if she’d aged twenty years. She said, “You’ve lost all magical abilities?”
“I can’t even find my power-well, much less my heart-of-hearts.”
Aunt Wisdom scanned Channie then said, “Everything is still there, but your power-well is so scarred it’s sealed shut and your heart-of-hearts is barely beating. Perhaps, in time, you’ll be able to cast a few simple spells, but without a power-name, it won’t be the same.”
Channie sat up straighter, lifting her head off Aunt Wisdom’s shoulder. “Then give me another power-name.”
Aunt Wisdom shook her head slowly then sighed and said, “It’s a miracle you survived the first name change. I’m afraid another will drive you insane or even kill you. Besides, there’s no place for it to dwell.” She gripped Channie’s cheeks with both hands and lifted her face, piercing her eyes with her gaze. “There’s no reason you can’t live a full and happy life without magic. You might have lost your abilities, but your connection to Josh survived. I don’t know anyone that wouldn’t trade magic for true love.”
“I wouldn’t trade true love for magic either, but I would trade my life to protect Josh. I’m going to marry Hunter.”
“Don’t make any final decisions until the full moon. The book instructed you to bind your heart to Josh, with no regrets, but later demanded you marry a royal mage?”
Channie nodded. “It’s a cruel book.”
Aunt Wisdom frowned. “I’m not even going to ask how you two got your hands on a Book of the Dead, but do you still have it?”
It was illegal for an underage mage to touch any magical book, much less use one to cast spells. Not only had they used the Book of the Dead, Channie had stolen it. “It’s in my backpack.”
“Well, at least it’s not with Prudence and that idiot she married. We can be grateful for that.” Aunt Wisdom got out of bed and said, “Go get it and meet me in the kitchen.”
Channie set her backpack on the pine bench and pulled out the book. She unwrapped it and set it on the kitchen table.
Aunt Wisdom traced the blackened letters that spelled out ‘Enchantment,’ with her finger tips then gripped the corner of the cracked leather cover.
Channie grabbed her hand and said, “Don’t open it. It’ll curse you too.”
“I need to read the exact words of the spell.”
“The words have already disappeared. Josh took pictures with his phone and I copied it into my journal.”
Aunt Wisdom smiled and said, “That was very creative. Do you have your journal?”
Channie retrieved it from her pack, turned to the page where she’d recorded the first spell then handed it to Aunt Wisdom.
After what seemed like an hour but was probably only five minutes, Aunt Wisdom closed Channie’s journal and said, “This doesn’t make a bit of sense. The book promised you and Josh a love pure and true if you manage to break the curse with a chaste kiss, which you did — congratulations on that by the way. It even demands you bind your hearts with no regrets — which means m
arriage. But then it contradicts itself and tells you to marry a royal mage? It even seems to have provided one upon your arrival. I’m obviously missing something.”
A rustling sound in the loft drew Channie’s attention. Josh was awake. He leaned over the rail, introduced himself and shared his adultery theory with Aunt Wisdom. He’d obviously been spying on them.
To Channie’s amazement, Aunt Wisdom agreed with him. “It didn’t say you and Josh have to bind your hearts to each other, it just says you have to bind your hearts.”
Josh said, “I’m going to need someone to zap me with a … what’s it called—”
“… be-calm spell?” Aunt Wisdom nodded. “I can do that. So can Hunter.”
“Yeah, a be-calm spell. But you better be the one to do it. I still want to beat the crap out of Hunter, but at least I don’t want to kill him anymore. That’s progress, right?”
Aunt Wisdom smiled at Josh and said, “Yes, that’s progress. Has the book given you any clues about the person you’re supposed to marry?”
Channie’s joints turned to water. She slumped into a chair and covered her face with her hands.
Aunt Wisdom seemed to read her mind. She turned towards Channie and said, “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. The book provided Hunter for you, I’m sure it will find the right girl for Josh.” So much for mind reading abilities.
Josh climbed down the ladder and said, “I’m not going to marry anyone.”
“Didn’t the book demand you bind your heart as well?”
“Yeah, but it also told me to not let any other girls lead me astray.” Josh skipped the last three rungs and hopped off the ladder. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and read from the screen…
Son of darkness, heed this advice,
Forsake all others that might entice
And lead astray with a wanton smile
The foolish boy they wish to beguile.
Burn the image in your heart and mind
Of true love’s kiss, and surely you’ll find
The strength and the will and the power to keep
The promise you made so your love would not weep.
Enchantment Page 30
