Finding Valor

by Charlotte Abel

  Josh replayed the memory of Channie’s kiss over and over in his mind. Hunter was reading out loud again. His voice was nothing but white noise; until he punched Josh’s arm.

  “Pay attention. This is important.”

  “Ow!” Josh rubbed his arm. “What’s important?”

  “This is.” Hunter underlined the words as he read them…

  Release this book into the daughter’s care

  But of the mother, let all beware.

  For evil lurks in a corrupted heart

  And seeks its own will to impart.

  The blood of the daughter cannot repay

  The debt of the mother ’til solstice day.

  “You’ve read that, and everything else, like twenty times already.” Josh was still having a hard time focusing.

  “I cain’t believe I didn’t figure it out sooner. Everything hinges around winter solstice. The total eclipse, your birthday and of course the final showdown with Dominance. I must be a lot more tired than I thought.” Hunter laughed. The aura surrounding him shone brighter. “Channie’s momma ain’t gonna try to sacrifice her before then. That gives us more time to come up with a plan.”

  “If you want to get some sleep before you leave that’s fine. But I don’t want you to postpone rescuing Channie just because you think we have a little extra time.”

  “It’s more than just a little extra time.” Hunter wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Winter solstice ain’t till December twenty-first.”

  “I’m not going to wait nine months. Channie was kidnapped. She’s being held against her will and who knows what else her mother is doing to her. She could be torturing her.” The thought tied Josh’s stomach into a knot and drove a knife of pain through his glowing chest. “If you won’t go get her I will.”

  “But, the book says—”

  “I don’t care what the damn book says.” Josh shoved his chair away from the table as he stood up.

  “Don’t get your drawers in a bind.” Hunter chased a bite of cold pizza with several gulps of Mountain Dew. “I wasn’t planning on waiting until the last second. But knowing we’ve got that much time to work with changes priorities.”

  “So, when are you leaving?”

  “When I’m sure you can defend yourself.” Hunter arched his eyebrows and sat up a little straighter. “Maybe all you need to do is curse someone for the Book of the Dead to decide it’s okay for you to go with me to rescue Channie.”

  “Okay. I’ll try to curse Eric at school tomorrow.”

  “Now you’re talking!” Hunter’s grin was downright devious.

  “But we are not kidnapping him. Understand?”

  “Whatever.” Hunter rolled his eyes but when they got to the top of his head, they drifted shut.

  Josh glanced at the clock on the wall. Was it really eleven forty-five? “My brain is toast. I need to go for a ride.”

  Hunter yawned and stretched. “It’s a little late to go for a ride.”

  “Fresh air helps clear my mind.”

  Kassie grinned like a villain in an old movie. “That’s an excellent idea. You go clear your head and I’ll stay here and help Hunter.”

  “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” Hunter chewed on the end of his pen then tapped his copy of the instructions. “This here part about ‘blood calling to blood’ has me a bit worried.”

  “Just that part?” Josh thought it was all pretty damn scary.

  “If your blood is calling to the Veyjiviks, they won’t need trackers to find you. Until you can defend yourself, you better stick close to me.”

  A lump formed in Josh’s throat. But it wasn’t fear making it hard to swallow. He’d never met Vincent, Vengeance, whatever—and he couldn’t ask for a better dad than Ezra—so where was all this emo crap coming from? He needed to get out of here. Josh leaned over and circled the words ‘Live your life as you did before’ on Hunter’s copy. “I was going to school and racing without a bodyguard. I don’t need you shadowing my every move.”

  “I don’t agree. And I don’t recommend going to school until you get your memory back. It’ll bring up too many questions.”

  Josh sat back down and jammed his fingers in his hair. “I don’t even know what classes I’ve got this semester. Or what I learned last semester. Shit! I’ve lost my entire senior year!”

  Hunter spoke so softly, it was barely above a whisper. “You’ve lost a heck of a lot more than that.”

  Pain and light flared out of Josh’s chest. Suddenly, his single memory of Channie was not enough. He waited for the pain to dull before he spoke. “What’s she like?”

  Hunter propped his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hands. “You already know she’s beautiful, but she’s also smart, funny, brave, stubborn and sassy as hell.”

  “It’s hard to believe she ever fell in love with someone like me.” Josh hated how pathetic that sounded.

  “She loves you more than anything or anyone. You guys are the perfect couple.” Kassie spoke with conviction, but Josh wasn’t sure whether she was trying to convince him…or Hunter.

  Hunter leaned back and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t think none of us are gonna get much else figured out tonight. I’m plum wore out. Why don’t we all go to bed and hit it hard tomorrow?”

  “I’ll show you to one of the guest rooms.” Kassie hopped up and smoothed the fabric of her shirt over her stomach. She sounded a little too eager for Josh’s comfort.

  “Third floor, first door on the right.” Hunter yawned and stretched.

  “How’d you know?” Kassie frowned, obviously disappointed.

  “This ain’t the first time I’ve been here.” Hunter grinned and winked at her. “But it’s an awful big house. I might get lost.”

  ~***~

  Josh felt as if he’d just fallen asleep when Kassie woke him up. “Get dressed. I have a plan for how you can go to school.”

  “I don’t remember anything about any of my classes.”

  Kassie handed him a handwritten schedule. “You’ve got a heavy load this semester, but you can do it.”

  Josh glanced at the list. AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, AP World History, AP Statistics, French III, Creative Writing. “Are you freaking kidding me? We’re halfway through the semester. Besides, people are going to wonder why Channie isn’t in school.”

  “That’s exactly why this is going to work. I’ll tell everyone that Channie ran away again. You’re too upset to talk about it. All you have to do is keep scowling like you are right now and glare at anyone that dares ask you about her.”

  Hunter knocked on the open door then stuck his head inside Josh’s room. “You don’t even have to do that. Use your magic to keep people away.”

  “I don’t know how!” Josh pulled his pillow over his face.

  Kassie jerked it off and tossed it to Hunter. “You haven’t even tried to use magic.”

  “You saw what I did to that tree. What if someone at school pisses me off? I don’t want to blow someone up because I can’t control this…” Josh waved a hand over his body. “Whatever this is.”

  Hunter snorted and shook his head. “You ain’t gonna curse nobody that don’t deserve it.”

  “You don’t know that.” Josh motioned for Kassie to turn her back then got out of bed and pulled a pair of jeans on over his boxers.

  Hunter straddled Josh’s desk chair. “You been trying to curse me from the very first day you popped the cork on your powers. You cain’t do it.”

  Josh grabbed a t-shirt off the floor. He didn’t think he could handle the heartache of finding Channie’s clothes in his drawers. “Why have I been trying to curse you?”

  Kassie turned back around and rolled her eyes. “Hunter’s got a thing for your wife. I imagine that’s why you wanted to curse him.”

  Hunter jammed his fists into his pockets. “It ain’t like that. Me and Channie have been friends since we was little.”

  Hunter had already admitted to Josh that he was in
love with Channie. And Kassie had overhead his confession. Why was he denying it now? Maybe it had something to do with the puke-green light oozing out of Josh’s stomach.

  The air around Hunter shimmered, but there was no colored light. “What I feel for Channie is complicated. I don’t understand it myself, but I’d never disrespect her.”

  “How are you keeping the light from escaping your body?” Josh would like to keep his feelings private as well.

  Hunter shrugged. “It takes practice. And if you or any other mage decides to read my energy field, well, there ain’t much I can do about it, but it’s considered rude so don’t try.”

  “Kassie’s not a mage. How come her emotions create light?”

  “What do you mean I’m creating light? I don’t see any light.”

  “That’s energy, not magic. Strong emotions affect energy, sort of how a prism bends light and makes a rainbow. Every living thing uses energy. If you look real hard you can see the shimmer of life surrounding plants.”

  Kassie shoved her fists onto her hips. “That’s just great. You can see what I’m feeling?”

  “You’ve always been easy to read, even without magic.” Josh smirked at her.

  Hunter ran his index finger across Kassie’s brow. “You get the cutest little wrinkle right here when you’re annoyed.”

  Kassie smacked his hand away, but her mouth twitched up at the corners.

  Hunter tapped her nose, but jerked his hand away before Kassie could hit him again. “And your nostrils flare when you’re really angry.”

  “They do not!”

  “Go look in a mirror. You’re doing it now.” Josh chuckled but quit laughing when a flash of red light pulsed out of Kassie’s energy field.

  Kassie took a deep breath and smoothed her shirt over her baby bump, obviously trying to get her emotions under control. “I’m going to school. I can’t hang out with you losers all day again. I have to think about my baby’s future.”

  A flash of red shot out of Hunter’s stomach. But it was followed by a pulse of gold out of his heart. “Seems to me you should have thought about that before you got knocked up.”

  Hunter was in love with Kassie whether he wanted to admit it or not. And her calling him a ‘loser’ had obviously hurt his feelings.

  Kassie’s energy field glowed with orange light. “I’m outta here.”

  “Kassie, wait.” Hunter reached out and grabbed her arm. “I’m sorry.”

  She jerked away from him and ran down the hall.

  Hunter’s shoulders sagged as he sighed. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Ya think?” Josh grabbed his backpack and slipped one strap over his shoulder.

  Hunter scratched the back of his head. “I ain’t usually so mean, but that woman gets under my skin like no other.”

  “Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”

  Hunter pressed his palm over his heart. “You saw that, huh?”

  Josh nodded.

  “What I feel ain’t gonna change nothing. She don’t want the likes of me.”

  “Didn’t you see the orange light pulsing all around her? I may not know much about magic, but I know that red light is anger, or emotional pain, and gold is love. Red and gold make orange. If you’d stop pissing her off, maybe she’d figure out that she’s in love with you too.”

  “She ain’t gonna marry nobody without a college education.”

  “So, get one.” Josh thought it was a little early to be talking about marriage, but he could hardly point that out with a gold band on his ring finger.

  “I dropped outta school in the sixth grade.” Hunter picked at one of the loose threads on his stylishly ripped jeans.

  “Oh. Well, then you need to get a GED first.”

  “What’s that?”

  “General Equivalency Diploma.”

  “How much does it cost?” Hunter looked up and gazed at Josh with his eyes full of hope.

  “I don’t know, but we can find out. Maybe I should just go ahead and drop out of school. We can both get our GEDs when this is all over.” It’d be less humiliating than flunking out.

  “No!” Hunter grabbed both of Josh’s shoulders and gave him a little shake. “The Book of the Dead said for you to live your life as you did before and that don’t include dropping out of school. Not unless the book tells you to.”

  “Okay, okay.” Josh ran a hand through his hair and grimaced when he caught a whiff of his arm pit.

  He reached for the deodorant sitting on his dresser, but Hunter grabbed his wrist.

  “Don’t use that stuff. It’s full of chemicals.”

  “I don’t have time for a shower.”

  “Just use a cleansing spell.”

  “You keep telling me to use magic and I keep telling you I don’t know how!”

  “Think about how good a nice hot shower would feel. You need a shave, too.”

  Josh scratched the whiskers along his jaw. “I don’t shave more than a couple times a week. What’s up with the beard?”

  “A heart-bond has a way of turning a boy into a man.” Hunter pointed at the bathroom door. “Now go in there and focus on being clean. And do it without soap and water.”

  “Why do I need to go into the bathroom?”

  “Cause you tend to make a mess. Now go.” Hunter gave him a friendly shove and closed the door.

  Josh glanced at himself in the mirror and again marveled at how different he looked. But a handsome face and well-defined muscles did not make up for body odor. “I want to be clean.”

  Nothing happened. He tried it again, this time closing his eyes. “Make me clean.”

  Hunter cracked the bathroom door open. “Don’t focus on the process, focus on the result. It helps if you can conjure up some real emotions. Think about how good it feels when you first come out of the shower.”

  “Why don’t you go downstairs and grab a bowl of cereal or something. You’re making me nervous.” Josh waited until he heard Hunter thumping down the stairs then grabbed his shampoo out of the shower. He closed his eyes and inhaled the familiar fragrance. All the hair on his body stood on end. Energy buzzed and prickled his skin. Pow!

  Josh’s eyes flew open. The scent of ozone hung in the air. He swiped the clouded glass of the mirror with his palm and grimaced at the oily film and speckles of whiskers clinging to his skin. He almost wiped his hand on his jeans, until he noticed how clean they were. He held his hand over the sink and thought about how he wanted it to feel as clean as the rest of his body. This time he kept his eyes open. The hair on his forearm stood up. The grime on his palm vibrated then formed a small cloud beneath his hand. The reaction was much smaller this time, a faint ‘pop’ instead of a clap of thunder. The only sign that his palm had been dirty at all was the hand-shaped residue in the sink. “Wow. That is so cool!”

  Josh ran downstairs to show Hunter, but he wasn’t there. The rattle of a powerful engine startled him. He ran outside and found Hunter on his motorcycle, geared up and ready to go.

  Josh had to yell over the sound of the bike. “You were going to leave without saying good-bye?”

  “I never say good-bye.” Hunter lifted the visor of his helmet. “But, I’m just gonna go get my old job back so I can keep an eye on you.”

  ~***~

  Walking into Monarch was much easier than Josh could have imagined. Kassie had obviously been busy. The other students either gave him sympathetic glances or avoided him completely. His first period teacher didn’t question him when he used “family emergency” as an excuse for not turning in his homework. He kept his head down as he walked to his locker so he didn’t notice Eric until it was too late.

  “So, Abrim, I hear your wife ran off again. What’s the problem? Not man enough to keep your little inbred hillbilly satisfied?”

  Josh fisted his hands and squeezed his eyes shut but he could still see the fiery, red glow of energy pulsing out of his stomach. If he unleashed it, there was no doubt in his mind that he’d kill
Eric. “Back off.”

  “What’s the matter? Did you forget your taser?”

  Josh ground his teeth and focused on holding on to the energy.

  “It’s okay, buddy. I got ya covered.”

  Josh opened his eyes. An emerald green bubble of light hovered over Eric. Hunter stood behind him, leaning on his broom.

  Josh hesitated. If Channie had been there…if she’d heard those cruel words…Eric would be nothing but a pile of ash. But she wasn’t here. She hadn’t heard Eric’s insult. The only ones Eric had offended were Josh and, possibly, Hunter. He wouldn’t curse Eric without stronger provocation.

  Eric glanced over his shoulder at Hunter. “Mind your own business, you stupid hillbilly. Where are you scum coming from anyway? You don’t belong here.”

  Hunter smiled, but it was the grin of a predator. “You talking to me city-boy?”

  “Get lost asshole.”

  Hunter’s smile disappeared. “Josh, either you do it, or I will. Keep in mind where my shield is.”

  Hunter’s shield was between Josh and Eric. If Hunter cursed him, he wouldn’t have any protection.

  When Josh blew up the oak tree, it was an accident. If he’d cursed Eric a few moments ago, he could have blamed it on loss of control. If he cursed Eric now, it would be a conscious act. “Will the shield hold?”

  Eric turned one way then the other as he tried to follow the conversation. He was trapped between Josh and Hunter. “What are you two freaks talking about?”

  Hunter clenched his jaw. “Do it. I cain’t keep everyone outta this here hallway much longer.”

  Josh held his hands in front of his waist and watched in amazement as a ball of red energy formed in his palms.

  Eric snorted and wrinkled his nose. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Josh thought of all the cruel things Eric had said and done over the years. He thought of Kassie and the way Eric was spreading rumors about her…claiming the baby wasn’t his. If anyone deserved to be cursed, he did. The ball of energy flew out of Josh’s hands without any direction from him. It slammed into Hunter’s shield and shattered it like a plate-glass window then slammed into Eric. He flew backwards and crashed into Hunter, knocking them both to the ground.