Believe: The Complete Channie Series

by Charlotte Abel

  The next morning, Daddy came into Channie’s room and sat down on the edge of her bed. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Your Momma and I had a nice long talk last night and decided we’d like to meet this boyfriend of yours. Go ahead and invite him over for supper.”

  Channie blinked her eyes open and yawned. She sat up and leaned back against the headboard. “His name’s Joshua Abrim but he’s not my boyfriend. He might not even be my friend. I sort of zapped him the other day.”

  “Zapped him?”

  “It’s what the Empties call it when I curse one of them. They think I’m using some sort of weapon.”

  Daddy chuckled until Channie narrowed her eyes.

  He coughed and cleared his throat but he couldn’t hide the tone of satisfaction in his voice. “Is the boy okay?”

  “He’s fine. Except he thinks I did it on purpose, even though I explained how you and Momma cursed me and it’s not my fault.”

  “You told him about magic?”

  Channie lifted her chin, daring Daddy to reprimand her.

  “Oh, baby girl, I hope you ain’t too attached to this fella.”

  Not quite the reaction she was expecting. “What do you mean?”

  Daddy took a deep breath and shifted his weight, making the bed springs creak. “If one of the clans finds out, they’ll most likely execute him.”

  “What!” Channie’s heart stopped, then pounded against the base of her throat. “You’re making that up.”

  “I wish I was. If he starts blabbing about magic, it could lead the Veyjivik’s right to our front door.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

  “It never come up. Besides, I had no way of knowing you was planning on breaking the oldest and most important mage law.”

  Channie drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins. “It’ll be okay. He didn’t believe me.”

  “We’d all be better off iffen he did. That boy needs to know what’s at stake before he goes and blabs what you told him.”

  “Can’t we just put a no-speak spell on him?”

  “We can try, but it takes a considerable amount of energy to maintain a spell like that. And all it takes is one slip up when the spell’s weak. It’d be safer to just go ahead and kill him.”

  Channie exploded out of the fetal position and jumped to her feet. “No!”

  Daddy raised his shield and shrank away from her.

  “You can’t kill him! I won’t let you. I’ll—”

  “Alright, baby girl. Let me talk to him. We’ll get it figured out, I promise.” Daddy was treating her like a dangerous animal, talking softly and patting her arm. “No need to get upset.” Channie didn’t even try to hide her smile as she felt the balance of power shift. Things were going to be much different around here.

  A New Believer

  INSTEAD OF GOING TO HER first class, Channie sat outside and wrote a letter to Josh, stating again that magic was real, that she was cursed and that she hadn’t meant to hurt him. She also invited him to supper. She pricked her finger with a rose thorn and squeezed three fat drops of blood onto the page, over her signature. No one, not even an empty, could deny the truthfulness of her words now. She waited for her blood to dry then rolled the paper into a narrow tube. She bound three rose petals to the scroll with a strand of her hair then tied it to the crossbar of Josh’s bike. There was enough life in the rose petals to hold magic for months so she had to be careful to confine her touch-me-not spell to everyone but Josh. It might convince him magic was real if the rose petals zapped him, but she wanted him to read the message.

  Josh still refused to talk to her, but Channie caught him stealing glances at her during lunch. She didn’t want to be around when he found her note on his bike, so she cut her last class and went to Heritage Park.

  She bypassed the pavilion and sat down in one of the black rubber swings. She rocked back and forth with the toes of her shoes buried in the soft pea-sized gravel as the afternoon sun warmed her shoulders and made her drowsy. Colorado weather was strange. Channie had gotten so cold last night, she’d crawled into bed with the trips, but it was at least eighty degrees now.

  Someone grabbed the sides of Channie’s hips from behind and shoved her so hard she nearly fell out of the swing. She clenched the chains in her fists as Chastity’s magic flew out of her body and zapped her attacker. He yelped in pain and ducked under the swing. It was a good thing Channie recognized Josh before she had a chance to kick him—or intentionally curse him.

  Josh frowned and shook his hands as if she’d burned him. Channie drug her feet through the gravel then jumped out of the swing, landing about three feet away from him. “I’m so sorry.”

  He blew on his palms and said, “I still don’t get how you do that.”

  “Did you read the note I left for you?”

  He chewed on the corner of his lower lip and nodded his head.

  “And?” He had to know she was telling the truth. The blood-spell was undeniable.

  His voice was soft and gentle. “I think...that you honestly believe in magic.”

  “But you don’t?”

  Josh ran his hand through his hair without answering her question.

  Maybe a little demonstration would help. Channie didn’t want to scare him or risk hurting him, so she directed a mild wave of energy over his scalp and filled his hair with static electricity. He tried to smooth it down with both hands but of course that didn’t work. He shook his head and laughed. “Worst case of helmet hair ever. I guess I need to change conditioners.”

  Stubborn, Magically Disabled boy. Channie cut off the flow of magic and smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging manner. “So, do you want to eat supper with my family?”

  “Isn’t your Dad going to try to kill me?”

  “Not if he knows what’s good for him.”

  Channie opened the front door and led Josh into the parlor. “Make yourself comfortable while I go tell Momma and Daddy you’re here.”

  They were both in the kitchen so they already knew. Channie lowered her voice and said, “Josh is in the parlor and he’s already nervous about meeting you, so be nice.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger at Daddy’s chest. “And don’t make a fuss when I turn on the electrical lights. Nobody around here uses kerosene lanterns.”

  Daddy’s face turned red. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but changed his mind and slammed it shut, locking his jaw.

  Channie said, “Alright?”

  Daddy closed his eyes and nodded.

  As soon as they walked into the parlor, Josh stood up and wiped his palms on his thighs.

  Momma nodded at him then went back into the kitchen without a word—rude, but not openly hostile.

  Daddy stepped forward and extended his hand, Josh did likewise and said, “Hello, Mr. Belks. I’m Joshua Abrim. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

  “Joshua.” Daddy’s energy field buzzed with annoyance but Channie didn’t know if was because she’d turned on the lights...or because he had to play host to an empty. When he finally released Josh’s hand, the poor boy’s fingers were white. He extended them, balled them into a fist then stretched them out again.

  Channie shot Daddy a warning glance.

  He stuck his thumbs in his belt and smirked at her.

  If Daddy thought she wouldn’t curse him in front of Josh, he had another think coming. She cast an itching spell at him but since it wasn’t a particularly strong spell, he was able to deflect it onto Josh. It hit him in the center of his chest. He nearly ripped his clothes off before Channie was able to reverse the spell.

  Josh’s face turned bright red. He smoothed the front of his shirt with his palms and cleared his throat. “Do you guys have a cat? I’m allergic to cats.”

  Channie sighed and said, “Come on, let’s go to my room.”

  Daddy stepped in front of Josh and said, “Over my dead body.”

  Josh stiffened and glanced at the front door
.

  Channie almost fell for it. Daddy wanted her to attack him with a debilitating curse. If she scared Josh away for good, she’d have no one to blame but herself. Maybe it would better serve her purposes to reassure Daddy that her stupid power name was more of a chaperone than he’d ever be.

  She took Josh’s hand, said, “I’m so sorry,” and gazed into his dark blue eyes.

  Josh jerked away from Channie with a yelp and backed towards the door.

  Daddy laughed and for some reason that stopped Josh in his tracks. He stared at Daddy then shifted his gaze to Channie. “What’s going on here?”

  Channie rubbed her temples then dropped her hands when she realized she was mimicking Momma. “I already told you.”

  Daddy chuckled again and shook his head.

  Channie pointed her finger at him and said, “You behave or I’ll deal with you later.”

  Daddy’s face turned red and the vein in his forehead pulsed but he just gritted his teeth and nodded.

  “Come on, Josh, let’s go upstairs.”

  Josh’s gaze flicked between Daddy and the front door. Channie didn’t have to be a mind-reader to know he was weighing his options. He squared his shoulders and headed for the stairs. Yes! Channie grinned and led the way to her room.

  Josh inspected her room with a dazed expression on his face. Channie was glad she’d removed that stupid canopy before he had a chance to see it. He shoved his hands in his front pockets and said, “Do you have a docking station? I’ve got some decent tunes on my iPod.”

  “Sorry, no.” Channie had no idea what he was talking about. Josh stared at his feet as the silence between them sucked the air out of her room. She opened her window then groaned in frustration when she saw Courage crawling across the roof.

  She leaned out, grabbed him by the back of his overalls and pulled him inside.

  “I ought to paddle your ornery little butt for pulling a stunt like that! You could have fallen and broken your neck!”

  He said, “Sorry, Channie,” but his devilish grin said, ‘what you gonna do about it?’ He cocked his head to the side and glared at Josh. “Who are you and what are you doing in Channie’s room?”

  Josh put his hands on his knees and squatted down till he was almost eye-level with the little monster. “My name’s Josh, and I’m a friend of your sister’s. How did you get on the roof?”

  “She ain’t my sister and I climbed up the rocks on the front of the house. It was easy.”

  Josh crossed the room to look out the window and gasped. Channie didn’t need to look outside to know what had startled him. Courage and Zeal were usually partners in crime. Josh practically dove out the window. He pulled Zeal inside and set him on the floor. “Holy freakin’ cow. There’s two of them.”

  “Actually, there’s three. But Savvy’s too smart to try a stunt like that...although he’s probably the master-mind behind it.” Channie leaned out the window and sure enough, Savvy was standing on the ground, grinning up at her and waving his chubby little hand.

  “Hi Channie!”

  “Savvy Belks!” Did you talk Zeal and CoCo into climbing the house?”

  “Nope.”

  Of course not. Little liar.

  Josh peered over Channie’s shoulder to look out the window then turned around and stared at Zeal and Courage. “How old are you guys anyway?”

  “Four.” They answered simultaneously.

  Josh said, “No shi—” He didn’t even get the whole word out before he started gagging.

  Zeal, Courage and Channie all cringed. There was no way Momma could have heard him. She must have slipped a precautionary clean-speech spell on Josh when she met him. Since he was an empty, he wouldn’t have noticed—until now of course. And even now, he’d probably come up with some weird explanation as to why his mouth suddenly tasted like soap.

  Josh wiped his tongue with the hem of his shirt and Channie couldn’t help but notice the muscular definition of his stomach. Dang! How did such a skinny kid get a washboard belly like that?

  Josh caught Channie in the act of checking him out and jerked his t-shirt back down past his hips. His cheeks and ears flamed bright red but he had a smirk on his face. “See something you like?”

  Channie’s hand flew to her mouth as she shook her head back and forth. Too late. She tried to hang onto her power, but enough slipped past her to make Josh’s back arch and his hair stand on end.

  Zeal said, “That’s not nice, Channie. I’m gonna tell Grandaddy you used magic to curse your friend.”

  Josh rubbed his chest and stared at her, wrinkling his brow.

  Channie rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, “Now, do you believe me?”

  The picnic table in the dining room was covered with the linen cloth Momma only used on holidays and set with mostly matching dishes. Daddy had pulled the wingback chair into the dining room and was already sitting at the head of the table.

  Josh offered to help carry the rest of the food in from the kitchen, but Momma shooed him away with her apron. “Get on in there and sit yourself down next to Channie’s daddy. Zeal, you sit on the other side of Grandaddy. Savvy, you sit right there where I can keep an eye on you. CoCo, you sit over there by Channie’s boyfriend—”

  “Momma!” Channie wanted to crawl under the table. Her ears felt like they were on fire. Josh was blushing too, but he was also grinning.

  About half-way through the meal, Daddy twisted sideways in his chair and leaned towards Josh. “What exactly are your intentions towards my daughter?”

  Josh’s grin faded to a tight-lipped smile.

  Channie spoke through gritted teeth. “Daddy …”

  Daddy said, “The boy’s got nothing to fear, so long as his intentions are honorable.”

  Yeah, right.

  Josh stuttered a bit then said, “I would like to be her friend.”

  “Is that all?”

  “We only met a few days ago.”

  “Alright, son, but before this night is over, you and me are gonna have a nice long talk.”

  This had gone far enough. “Daddy, leave him alone.”

  Momma patted her mouth with her napkin and shot Daddy a warning glance. “Joshua, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.”

  Josh set his fork down and put his hands in his lap, but he maintained eye contact with Momma. “My mom and dad got divorced two years ago. I live with my mom and little brother, Elijah. We go to Dad’s every other weekend when I’m not racing—”

  “Racing? What kind of racing? Horses? Automobiles? Dogs?” Daddy loved racing of any kind. Especially if he thought he had insider information that might increase his odds of betting on a long shot.

  “BMX.”

  “BMX? What’s that?”

  “Bicycles on a motor cross track.”

  “Bicycles? Folks around here race bicycles?”

  “Yes, sir. I’m racing next weekend in Dacono. Admission is free, if you and your family want to come watch.”

  Daddy pushed his plate to the side, put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his fists. “You any good?”

  Josh looked at Channie and blushed. “The best in my age group.”

  Daddy thumped him on the back and said, “Good for you, my boy. Good for you! Do you like peach cobbler?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Daddy dumped half of Momma’s peach cobbler onto Josh’s plate then grilled him about bicycle racing between bites.

  Damn it to hell and back. Channie could see the wheels of greed spinning in Daddy’s mind. She’d set him straight after Josh left. No way was she going to let him sabotage Josh’s race just so he could bet on his rivals.

  Channie watched in amazement as the cobbler disappeared. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him, but Josh could sure put away the food.

  Daddy pushed back from the table and said, “Prudence, take the boys to the park for a while. I’d like to talk to Channie and Joshua.”

  Oh crap. What now?<
br />
  The boys whooped and shrieked with delight then bolted for the front door before Momma could override Daddy’s decision and order them to get upstairs and into the bathtub. She threw her napkin on the picnic bench and slammed the front door on her way out—leaving Channie and Josh all alone with Daddy.

  Daddy patted the bench to his left. “Come on over here, baby girl.”

  Channie narrowed her eyes, but did what he asked.

  Daddy folded his arms across his barrel-sized chest and leaned back in his chair. “Alright, son, how much has Channie told you about us?”

  Josh’s gaze switched from Daddy to Channie for the briefest of moments, but Daddy noticed.

  “It’s alright, son. Just tell me the truth.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. You’ll have to ask Channie.”

  Daddy slammed his fist down on the table, making the dishes as well as Channie and Josh jump. “I’m asking you!”

  “Stop it, Daddy.” Chastity’s energy buzzed, prickling Channie’s skin. “I told him what we are and what you and Momma did to me. I also told him how I don’t have very good control of my powers and how easy it is to trigger a curse. Something you might want to keep in mind.”

  Daddy took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “I wanted to hear it from the boy, Channie. That way I could judge his understanding and know what to do about it.” He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead then put both hands flat on the table and leaned towards Josh.

  “Do you believe her?”

  “I think...maybe...I do.”

  After supper, Josh insisted on helping Channie clear the table. Daddy’s face turned red when Josh put the dishes in the automatic dishwasher instead of the sink. He glared at Channie, but didn’t say anything.

  Josh was a regular chatterbox and talked non-stop. “This is so cool. I can’t believe you can really do magic! Can you levitate stuff?” He held a plate by the edges and grinned at her.