TAKEN: Book Two

by Abel, Charlotte

  She pressed her palms over her breaking heart, and bit her lip to keep from whimpering as the pain grew more intense. She said, “I know it’s hard, but you have to let me go.”

  Josh released her arms, and staggered to his feet. His gaze darted to the knife on the floor then back to her face. Channie scrambled to her feet. She could see it in his eyes. He could barely stand, but Josh wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.

  ~***~

  Josh’s shield collapsed as he lunged towards the knife. Momma looked up then jumped to her feet. But instead of attacking Josh, or cursing him, she cast a mild be-calm spell on him. He swayed for a moment then stumbled forward — right into Momma’s waiting arms. At first, Channie thought Momma had triggered the death-pledge when she dropped to one knee. But she was only lowering Josh to the floor.

  Channie sank down beside him.

  Momma was as tender and careful as a young mother with a newborn babe. She laid Josh’s head in Channie’s lap and smiled at him as she brushed the curls off his face. “You’re too weak to be darting around like that. You need to rest. Sleep. Save your strength.”

  No wonder the death-pledge remained dormant. Momma had interfered with Josh’s plans, but she hadn’t done him any harm. In fact she’d helped him. He was weak. He did need to rest. The be-calm spell was mild enough to be good for him.

  Momma said, “Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Discretion is the better part of Valor?’” then giggled at her own pun using Josh’s power-name. She smirked at him and patted his cheek … a little too forcefully to be a true act of affection.

  Channie hoped Momma would give in to her insane, violent urges and slap Josh. But she reeled the crazy back in before it could trigger the curse. She said, “You’ll feel much better by morning,” then stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans as if touching Josh had somehow contaminated her. “Come on, baby girl. It’s time to go.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Channie didn’t want any question about whether or not she was being obedient. She pulled a cushion off the sofa and placed it under Josh’s head then stood up. He looked so peaceful. But it wouldn’t last. The instant the be-calm spell wore off, he’d come charging after them without a thought to his own safety. He’d already proven he had no intention of obeying the Book of the Dead even though that was their best chance of surviving the next few months. If only Josh weren’t blinded by love, maybe he’d act a little more rationally.

  “Momma? Can you cast a remember-not spell on Josh? Make him forget he ever met me … so he won’t follow us.” Just the thought of it punched a hole through Channie’s heart but she couldn’t think of any other way to protect him. She prayed that the book’s message she’d sent to his phone would be enough to guide him through the treacherous months ahead.

  Momma blinked and arched her eyebrows. “That’s a very good idea.”

  Josh groaned as he lifted his hand three inches off the floor. He shouldn’t be able to open his eyes, much less move.

  He trembled as he reached for Channie. “No.”

  How was he able to speak?

  “Don’t.”

  Channie glanced over her shoulder to be sure she wasn’t gonna piss off Momma then knelt back down and pressed her hand over Josh’s heart. “No spell can break our bond.” Their heart-bond glowed and shot beams of golden light between her fingers. Channie leaned over, blocking it from Momma’s view, until Josh was able to pull it back inside his heart-of-hearts. She pressed her cheek against his and whispered, “Remember our wedding vows?”

  Josh lifted his chin, a tiny nod.

  She whispered the prophetic words into his ear. “Look upon each other’s face and bind yourselves with courage and grace. When time and distance keep you apart, let love protect your spell-bound hearts.”

  Josh’s body trembled under Channie’s hands as she kissed his brow. “Even though your mind forgets, your heart will remember. I love you Joshua Vincent Abrim.”

  “Channie!” It was barely a whisper but she heard the agony in his voice as if he’d screamed her name.

  She kissed him again … one last brush of her lips over his. “It’ll be better soon. I promise.”

  Momma said, “Get out of the way. I don’t want you to forget him.”

  Channie backed away in slow motion … studying every detail … the width of his shoulders … the angle of his jaw … the stubble on his chin … the shape of his lips … the deep blue color of his sapphire eyes …

  She pressed her hand over her shattered heart and whispered, “Never. I could never forget him.”

  Channie could see the effects of Momma’s spell as it attacked Josh. Agony twisted his features into a mask of pain as he fought back.

  Their bond flared, filling the room with a brilliant golden light as Josh reached for her once more. He whispered her name then sighed and closed his eyes. Their bond faded. Darkness reclaimed the room.

  Channie now knew the true meaning of Empty.

  In Praise of

  Enchantment: Book One

  Amazon Bestseller Top 20 in Children’s Fiction, Sports and Activities

  “This book will make you believe in magic.”— J. Timothy King author of From the Ashes of Courage

  “This unique addition to the paranormal romance genre deals with teenage sexuality in a nuanced yet discreet way ... recommended for fans of the Twilight series, Harry Potter, or paranormal romance in general.”— Jared Oliver Adams author of Whiteface and One Good Thing

  "This book took me to places I've never been ... Once I was

  drawn in, I was unable to put it down until the end." — Shannon Dermott author of Beg for Mercy

  "Magic, treachery, humor and thrills ... flat out fun to read. Five Stars!" — Ben Langhinrchs author of My Cozy Chair (review blog)

  “The writing is superb, really polished plot and characters … a whole new world to get lost in.” — Jason Matthews author of The Little Universe and Jim’s Life

  "Every girl wants their prince charming to be just like Josh. It made me cry and laugh and gasp ... a make your heart warm and tingle kind of love story!" — Natasha

  “If you crave excitement and danger with your romance and can't get enough of Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, or Cassandra Clare make room on your Kindle for Enchantment!”

  The third and final book of The Channie Series will be available September 2012

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Charlotte Abel was born and raised in Oklahoma. She spent many happy summers visiting relatives in Arkansas. She now lives in Colorado with her husband, Pete and loves hiking, biking, snowshoeing and skiing in the Rocky Mountains, but will always have a special fondness for the Ozarks.

  Visit her at TheChannieSeries.com

  Twitter @charlotte_abel

  You can also find Charlotte at Amazon.com and Goodreads.com

  Check out Channie’s Diary online

  If you enjoyed Taken I hope you’ll recommend it to your friends and write a quick review on Amazon.com

  So many people contributed to this process, I hesitate to thank anyone, lest I forget someone. With that disclaimer … I must thank my editor, Carol Burkett and Kris Kendall, my publicist. The value of their support, friendship and guidance is beyond measure. They are both worth their weight in gold.

  I’d also like to thank my early beta-readers and reviewers: Karla Hernandez, Nicole Passante, Jessica Ramierez, Stephanie Redwine, Maghon Thomas and Terri Thomas. Without them, this would be a very different book. They all deserve power-names of their own.

  I will be forever grateful to Orson Scott Card for encouraging me to turn the short story I wrote during his workshop into the first novel of this series, Enchantment.

  A special thank you to my friends, colleagues and mentors at the Indie Book Collective: Carolyn McCray, Amber Scott, Rachel Thompson and Taylor Lee.

  Meeting Destiny Excerpt

  Read a bonus excerpt from Meeting Destiny by Nancy Straight — Available now!

  Chapter O
ne

  Seth stopped by to get a salad halfway through my shift – it’s one of the only things he’ll eat from the menu. “I’m hitting the library. You need a ride home tonight?”

  I shook my head, “No, I’ll catch a ride with Melissa. Call me later?”

  “Sure, but it’ll be late.” He leaned across the counter, “I miss you already.” He’s the sappy romantic type. Seth and I have lived next door to one another our whole lives, our moms were best friends in high school, and we’ve been dating, I guess, since middle school. As I watched Seth make his way to the parking lot, I saw someone coming through the door who made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

  I watched the man closely, not paying attention to the order monitor or anything Melissa said. He must have felt me staring at him because he caught my gaze for a second. Neither of us moved. He stood two steps inside the doorway as if arguing with himself whether he wanted to be here.

  The man had bushy brown hair that looked as though it hadn’t seen a comb in days and likely not any kind of shampoo in weeks. His hair lay in all different directions. It looked dark brown, but I couldn’t tell if that was really the color or the grease from neglect. His face looked like leather, covered in stubble, with deep crevices from the sun. He had a slender build, his cheeks were sunk in, he was tall, easily five eleven, maybe an inch or two taller.

  His clothes were a mess. He was wearing a dirty white t-shirt hidden under a thick green winter coat. The coat looked like the old Army jackets from the sixties with a large silver zipper. The coat’s length hung well over his thighs. It was unzipped and hung over blue jeans that were too long and too big for his frame; maybe at one time they fit his waist, but that was at least twenty pounds ago. His appearance made me think of a homeless person, maybe an addict whose addictions had shrunk his body, maybe a vagrant happy to find a decent pair of jeans from Goodwill.

  His appearance didn’t disturb me nearly as much as his expression. It was as if he were looking through the people, like the people in the restaurant didn’t actually exist. The hair on my arms joined the hair on the back of my neck, all at attention. I felt an uneasiness I’d never felt before. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew this man was trouble.

  I scanned the room and saw several tables had opened up. It looked like there were maybe twenty customers, not nearly as many as just fifteen minutes ago. All seemed to be oblivious to this newcomer.

  “Lauren!” The voice caught me off guard and quickly brought me back to reality. Melissa looked frustrated with me, “I need four fries and two cheeseburgers.” From her stare, she must have had to repeat herself. I watched as the customer wearing the green coat moved from the door to her line. I put the fries and cheeseburgers on the tray and pretended to be looking up at the order monitor.

  Embarrassed, I managed, “Sorry, I must have been daydreaming for a second.”

  Only two orders were in line. A woman in her late thirties who looked like she had just left an office, had her four-year-old son in tow. The four-year-old was babbling as if he’d not been able to talk all day. I only vaguely heard his questions, “Mommy, can I have a toy? Can I have a boy toy? I don’t like the girl toys. Remember when I got a doll? I want French fries. Can I have chicken? Mommy…”

  The green jacket guy was bad news, and I knew I had to get Melissa away from the counter, even if only for five minutes.

  Before the exhausted mom could place her order, I tapped Melissa on the shoulder. “Hey, Wanda wants you to go inventory the freezer.” I am a horrible liar and anyone who knows me well can see through me immediately. I made a conscious effort not to make eye contact with her. I told myself I just needed her out of the way until the green jacket guy left.

  “No way, I didn’t bring a coat. I’m not doing the inventory.” She blasted this louder than I had expected, and I winced, turning around to see if Wanda had heard the exchange. Wanda was assisting the drive-through and luckily paid no attention to the two of us. “Besides, I did it last week and did a miscount - too many beef patties on this week’s shipment. Wanda told me not to do the inventory alone again - ever.”

  I needed to make this sound good, so with as forceful a voice as I could muster, I looked straight into her eyes, “Look Melissa, I’ve got plans tonight and can’t work late. You can’t handle the front by yourself. If we’re going to get out on time you have to figure out how to do basic math!” My angry voice devastated my upbeat friend, and the hurt on her face was as clear as if it had been written in marker. “Just go.”

  Stepping to the register, I put my back to Melissa, betting she would depart without any argument. I took the order for the mom and son while watching every move from the man in the green jacket. He was looking around wildly at each of the exits, over his shoulder, through the windows; I did my best not to catch his eye again. Rather than piecing their order together and going on to the man in the green jacket, I waited for their order to be complete.

  I took a deep breath and told myself I was overreacting. He didn’t force his way to the front of the line. If he were really dangerous, he wouldn’t have acted like a normal customer. It’s not like I haven’t served people who were poorly dressed and in need of better hygiene. I tried to tell myself that he was just a hungry man in need of a shower.

  No, if anything, I have learned to trust my instincts, and every fiber of my being told me this guy was bad news.

  As I got the exhausted mom’s to-go order, I was thankful that she was as anxious to leave the restaurant as I was for her to get away from the man standing two feet behind her. Her son continued with an endless string of questions, although I believed she was tuning him out as well as I was. The working mom thanked me and walked straight to the nearest exit.

  My stomach felt like I had eaten a rock - or maybe a whole box of them. The ache from my stomach now joined the tiny hairs on my neck and arms that hadn’t relaxed since this stranger walked through the door. My heart started racing so fast that I could actually feel my pulse through my skin.

  With as cheerful a voice and smile as I could produce, I finally looked at the man and asked, “May I take your order?” This was the first time I had made eye contact with him since he first stepped through the door.

  His hands were in the pockets of his jacket. He broke eye contact and looked at the menu behind me. In a hushed voice, he whispered, “I sure am hungry.”

  Rather than a smart response like, “Well duh, this is a restaurant,” I waited patiently, looking at him with what I knew was a pleasant look on my face.

  My heart refused to slow down. “Take your time,” I answered as casually as I could. I looked down at the register, thinking that too much eye contact might agitate him. I realized that by now Melissa was safely in the freezer, probably pissed, but at least she was safe. I told myself that five minutes after this guy left, I would go back and apologize to her and explain that I’m really a lunatic instead of a jerk.

  “I know what I want,” his voice boomed. I looked back at him, before my eyes reached his, they stopped at his waist where I could see he had a gun. I stared at it as he slid it back into his pocket. I was thankful that he was not trying to frighten the rest of the customers in the restaurant. Knowing the potential horrific outcome, I was relieved that it was just he and I who were aware of his gun. Unfortunately, he was the only one aware of his intentions.

  I kept my eyes trained on his pocket. Without looking back to his face, I asked, “What can I get for you, sir?” My voice didn’t crack, and I gave no indication of the fear that enveloped me. I believe my reaction, or lack thereof, might have surprised him a little.

  He paused, eying me carefully before he demanded, “I’d like some food and any cash you have in that drawer.” I could see he was pointing his gun through the pocket of his jacket as he motioned to the cash register.

  I finally broke my gaze from his jacket. I remained as calm as I could, “Okay sir, le’ me get your order.” Not wanting to take a chance at him
staying here one second longer than he needed to, I grabbed a smorgasbord of food from the counter. Chicken sandwiches, fish sandwiches, double cheeseburgers, hamburgers, fries and onion rings. I grabbed a handful of all the condiments in the bin and put it all in our largest to-go bag.

  I moved to the register and prepared to hit the cash sale button when I heard that same high-pitched voice that I was certain had just left the restaurant.

  “Hey! I didn’t want a girl toy. I’m a boy.” The child was notably upset, but I didn’t take my eyes off the man with the gun. I reached under the counter to get the boy a new toy. My fingers struggled to find the large toy box without the aid of my eyes showing them the way. I grabbed a handful of them and passed at least five to the boy without even looking at him.