“I can do it.” CoCo’s sleepy voice wafted out of the van. The sound dampening spell must have worn off.
Josh poked his head inside. “Hey, you’re awake.”
CoCo’s lip trembled but his eyes remained dry. “We didn’t mean to hurt Daddy. It was an accident.”
“I know, kiddo. It’s okay.” Josh’s throat clamped shut as guilt washed over him. These poor kids had lost both their parents in less than a month’s time.
“If you build a shield for our new momma and daddy, I’ll recharge it every morning, I promise.”
Wow. Where did that come from? Josh had told them that Liz and Ezra would be taking care of them, but he hadn’t mentioned adoption.
Liz leaned into the van then unbuckled CoCo and lifted him into her arms.
CoCo clung to her like a baby chimp and buried his face in her shoulder.
“CoCo?” Josh cleared his throat, but his voice remained rough as gravel. “Do you have enough control to do something like that?”
CoCo lifted his head and nodded then hid his face in Liz’s shoulder again.
Ezra coughed into his fist. His voice cracked when he spoke and it took him a few tries to get the words out. “Make my shield first. Just in case…”
Josh glanced at Vince out of the corners of his eyes.
Vince smiled and nodded. “It’s okay. A shield is defensive magic. It won’t hurt you.”
Josh closed his eyes and groaned. “My shield is different than most mages.”
“That’s right!”
Josh opened his eyes, surprised by Hunter’s enthusiasm.
“The first day at Freedom Ridge, Josh expanded his shield to protect me and…” Hunter’s face fell. Tears filled his eyes. “He…”
Josh rested a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. Shep’s loss was still too raw for both of them. “The mage in charge of training is a bit of a hard ass. It’s a long story, but my shield absorbs energy when I’m under attack. I got a little overloaded and had to redirect the power so I blew up a tree.”
Josh didn’t want to go into details or tell how he’d used his shield to kill an entire camp full of enemy mages. The less Ezra and Liz knew about that stuff the better.
Vince shot Josh a questioning look. He obviously knew there was more to the story and would insist Josh tell him all about it later; but at least he wasn’t going to pursue it now. “I still think it’s safe. In fact, I think you’ll be able to give them a little extra protection because of your unique abilities.”
Josh’s sapphire warmed the skin over his heart as he considered creating a shield for someone else. Something told him that it was safe and important that he do it.
Creating a shield was easy. Getting it to stay in place was not.
Vince said, “Try anchoring it to his energy field.”
Josh focused on the shimmering light surrounding Dad. He recognized anxiety and frustration but that energy wouldn’t always be active. He dug deeper and found a quiet, steady glow. He created another shield and imagined it merging with the energy of Dad’s love. The shield snapped into place with a distinctive pop.
Dad’s eyes widened. “Wow.”
“How do you feel?”
Dad grinned. “Absolutely amazing.”
Now that Josh understood the process, attaching Liz’s shield was just as easy as creating it.
She had the same awestruck reaction. “If you wanted to sell these things, you could make a fortune.”
Josh gripped Liz’s arms and gave her a gentle shake. “You can’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t.” She smiled and patted Josh’s hand. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“He’s right, Liz.” Dad slipped his hand around her waist. “The man that attacked you is still out there…” Dad’s eyes widened. He turned to Josh. “Will these shields protect us from those…what did you call them…trackers?”
Vince shook his head. “It will slow them down, but without a direct link to a source of power, your shields will fail under a sustained attack.”
“You need to avoid trackers at all costs.” Josh gave Dad and Liz another hug. He kissed the top of CoCo’s head then woke Savvy and Zeal to say good-bye to them as well.
Both boys burst into tears.
Josh didn’t want to cast a calming spell on them if he didn’t have to, so he combed through their curls with his fingers and whispered assurances in a soothing tone but they didn’t calm down until he promised to come see them soon.
Dad pulled Josh into one more hug, squeezing the air out of his lungs. “Those little guys have been through hell, but kids are resilient.”
“Thanks for agreeing to take them, and for keeping them together.”
“Of course.” Dad smiled as he slipped into the van. He pointed at Josh. “I’ll see you on Friday.”
~***~
Channie dug through the bits of satin and lace in the top drawer, but couldn’t find anything even remotely modest. “What’s the point?”
She slammed the drawer shut and got dressed sans underwear, choosing the baggiest sweatpants and t-shirt she could find in the closet. She grinned at her very unsexy reflection in the mirror. “There. That’s better.”
She slipped her bare feet into a pair of forest green Uggs. No wonder Kassie wore the fur-lined boots all the time, indoors and out. Not only were they warm, she felt as if she were walking on clouds.
Bang, bang, bang.
Channie yelped and clutched her hands in front of her chest. Vince's associate was knocking on the door.
“Channie? Are you in there? Open up. It’s me, Hunter.”
“Hunter?” She raced downstairs and looked through the peephole. “Hunter!”
She yanked the door open and flung herself into his arms.
He pulled her hard against his chest. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“How’d you find me?” Channie let go and tried to step away, but Hunter clung to her, trembling.
“I’ll always find you.”
Hunter’s declaration, coupled with his overly enthusiastic embrace, shocked Channie. She wormed her forearms in front of her braless chest, but Hunter only held on tighter.
Channie didn’t need magic to feel Hunter’s emotions churning just beneath the surface. A few of them so strong, they leaked into his energy field where they were easy to identify: grief, remorse, loneliness, despair, but surprisingly and thankfully, no lust.
“Hunter.” Channie tapped his shoulder. “Let go.”
He gradually relaxed his death-grip then stepped away from Channie. “Sorry.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, Channie.” Hunter lifted his chin and gazed at her with such grief it stopped her heart. His green eyes swam with tears. “I didn’t want to start off this way.”
Channie’s first thought was that something horrible had happened to Josh. She reached out to him through their bond and nearly fainted with relief when she felt him there, but her anxiety spiked when he immediately shut down the connection. “What is it? Just tell me.”
Hunter swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. “Can we go inside and sit down?”
“Of course.”
Hunter sank into the leather cushions of the sofa and rested his elbows on his knees. He stared at his hands, hanging loose between them. “It’s Shep.”
“What about him?” Channie perched on the edge of the armchair.
“He’s dead.”
Channie’s chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. She shook her head in denial. “No. Not Shep.”
Hunter nodded. “Steward, too.”
“How?”
“I wasn’t there. But I heard all about it from them that survived.” Hunter seemed to retreat within himself. He wrapped his arms around his waist and hunched over like an old man. His voice dropped to a monotone whisper as he retold the story of the ‘Black Mountain Rescue.’
Channie grieved for the ones that had died, but her heart bled for their families. She knew what they
were going through. Daddy’s death didn’t feel real yet—and she’d have to deal with that someday soon—but Abby’s lifeless body invaded Channie’s dreams on a nightly basis. She knew she’d never recover from that horror.
But when Hunter told how Josh had disarmed everyone, friend and foe, with magic and then used his shield to obliterate the enemy against unimaginable odds, a warm glow of pride and gratitude soothed the ache. “Josh is a hero?”
Hunter nodded. “He’s definitely growing into his power-name. He’s more Valor than Josh now.”
Tears stung Channie’s eyes. The Book of the Dead had declared that Josh had one year to ‘learn and grow’ but she hadn’t fully realized what that meant, until now. She’d fallen in love with sweet, shy Joshua Abrim—not Valor Veyjivik, the war hero.
“Channie?” Hunter leaned forward and rested three fingers on her knee. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and blinked back the tears but couldn’t keep her voice from wavering. “Losing his memories of me was part of the plan all along.”
“Josh’s memories are suppressed, not lost. And even if they were, he still loves you. He will always love you.”
“Because of our bond.”
Hunter frowned. “You’re acting like that’s a bad thing.”
“Josh is bound to me. He doesn’t love me. How can he? He doesn’t even know me.”
“When me and Josh shared that apartment in Vegas, we got pretty close. He told me more than once the story of how y’all met. He said it was love at first sight.”
Channie closed her eyes, too ashamed to look at Hunter. “I used a come-hither spell on him to make him kiss me.”
“He told me.” Hunter chuckled. “I wish I could’ve been there to see it.”
Channie knew that Hunter used humor as a defense mechanism. She’d often admired the way he could laugh even when consumed with emotional pain. This was not one of those times. “It wasn’t funny then and it’s certainly not funny now.”
Hunter sobered up immediately. “You know you can’t use magic to make someone love you. Josh fell for you because you’re sweet, smart, funny, sassy and sexy as hell. You’re still the same girl.”
“But Josh isn’t the same boy. You said it yourself…he’s more Valor than Josh.”
“That was an exaggeration. I just meant that he’s…I don’t know…braver? More serious about following his destiny. His power-name is influencing him, sure, but he’s still Josh.”
“The Book of the Dead changes people. Look what it did to Momma.”
“Your momma had no right to use that book in the first place.” Hunter leaned forward and took Channie’s hands in his. “Ms. Wisdom said that as long as the Book of the Dead has Valor Veyjivik’s name on the cover, it ain’t gonna hurt Josh. And I’m telling you, that boy ain’t never gonna stop loving you.”
~***~
“He’s right.”
Channie gasped as her heart-bond leapt out of her chest. She shot out of her chair and whirled around to find Josh leaning against the doorframe. Her hands flew to her mouth.
Josh rubbed the back of his neck as a crimson flush spread across his cheeks.
Channie’s heart swelled with joy as tears filled her eyes. He might be Valor Veyjivik, but only Josh Abrim would blush like that. She ran across the room and threw herself into his arms.
He hesitated for half a second then tugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. That was also pure Josh.
Channie inhaled deeply, pulling his unique scent of lemons, sandalwood and musk into her lungs. His heart pounded against her cheek, beating in tandem with her own. Their bond lit up the room.
Horror replaced joy as Channie realized that Josh had just fallen into Vengeance’s trap. She pushed away from him, ripping her heart in two. “You can’t be here. You need to go.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You don’t understand! It’s a trap.”
Josh arched his eyebrows. “Didn’t Hunter explain it to you?”
Hunter scratched the back of his head. “I hadn’t quite gotten around to that part, yet.”
“What part? What’s going on? And how did either of you make it past the protection spells?” A sense of dread crashed down on Channie. She’d been so excited by Hunter and Josh’s arrival, she hadn’t stopped to consider how they’d done it. “If the protection spells don’t work, then I have to leave. I have to escape and turn myself over to Momma.”
“Slow down there, girl.” Hunter extended a hand as if trying to calm a skittish colt. “The protection spells work exactly the way Vince wants them to. Me and Josh are the only ones that can pass through without Vince. You’re stuck here until he decides otherwise.”
“How do you know any of that?”
“Because I’m Vince's right-hand man.”
“How do you even know Vengenace Veyjivik? And why would you work with him?”
“Remember when I told you I was working as a double agent, pretending to work for the Veyjiviks so I could feed them false information and pass their secrets on to Ms. Wisdom?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, I’m doing it again. Only this time the only person I’m spying on is Vince and the only one I’m reporting to is Josh.” Hunter leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “Vince thinks I’m hunting for his long-lost son, but instead I’m sneaking him in to see you. Pretty neat, huh?”
“I don’t understand. How did he exclude Josh from the protection spells?” It required a drop of the person’s blood.
Hunter’s eyes widened. He licked his lips and glanced at Josh then grinned and pointed at himself. “Trusted associate, remember?”
“So you what? Told Vengeance that you snuck up on Josh, poked him with a needle and stole a drop of his blood?”
“Something like that.”
“What if Vengeance comes back early?”
“He’s not coming back. He put me in charge of you. Besides, he calls me at least once a day to check in.”
“But that’s to check up on you, right? Why would he tell you his business?”
Josh cleared his throat. “Hunter’s also sort of an assistant. Vince would call him if he decided to come back here so Hunter would have time to change the sheets in the master bedroom and stuff.”
“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” Channie turned around within the circle of Josh’s arms so she could gaze into his dark blue eyes as her own filled with tears.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I hope those are happy tears.”
She shook her head. “I have to try to escape and get back to Momma or my death pledge will kill me. Will you help me?”
“No. I can’t help you escape, even if I wanted to. And I most certainly don’t! Hunter, Vince and I are the only ones that can safely pass through the protection spells.”
“Even if you shield me?”
“Vince knows about your death pledge and took every precaution. There’s no way for you to escape so you might as well stop trying.”
“So, if Vince isn’t coming back…” Channie tried to keep the swelling sensation of hope in her heart from spreading. She wouldn’t be able to handle the disappointment if Josh refused. “Do you want to stay here with me?”
Josh’s cheeks flushed pink as he nodded. “I’d like that very much.”
Hunter cleared his throat. “Can I borrow your car for a couple of hours so I can go see Kassie?”
“Don’t you think it’s a little late?”
“Wait…we’re in Colorado?” A grin spread across Channie’s face.
“We’re about five miles above Nederland and thirty-five miles from downtown Louisville.” Josh pressed the side of her head against his racing heart. “Why don’t you give Kassie a call and see if she’s still awake?”
They have phones. Channie’s heart constricted so violently it made her gasp. I’ll have to steal Josh’s while he’s asleep and call Momma. Tell her where I am.
Josh pulled his phone out of his pocket and
waved it in front of Channie’s face. “I have a feeling I need to put this someplace where you can’t get to it. Am I right?”
“Are you reading my mind?”
“No.” Josh grinned at her. “I just know how a devious mind works.”
“I don’t want to escape. But I have to keep trying.”
Josh tossed his keys and his phone to Hunter. “I don’t care if Kassie is asleep. Go wake her up.”
Hunter’s grin split his face. “Thanks!”
“Just be sure my car’s back by six thirty tomorrow morning and leave my phone with the guards at the gate.”
“Guards?” Channie’s mouth went dry. “Won’t they call Vengeance and tell him you’re here?”
“Hunter hired them. They report to him.” Josh took Channie’s hand and led her to the couch. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
~***~
Josh hated to add to Channie’s grief, but she needed to know about Diego. He held her on his lap as she sobbed. Her tears soaked through his shirt in a matter of seconds but she stopped crying much sooner than he’d expected. Kassie had thrown a bigger fit when Eric broke up with her.
Josh kept an arm around Channie as he leaned to the side and snagged a tissue off the end table. “Here.”
She blotted her eyes then blew her nose. “I didn’t really know Diego all that well. But he was the trips’ daddy. Those poor babies are orphans now. I know Aunt Wisdom’s busy with the rebellion and all, but I hope she’ll take some time off to help the boys work through their grief.”
“Actually… Wisdom left right after Diego died. My dad and Liz are fostering the triplets.”
“But…they’re empties. They won’t be able to handle the boys’ magic.”
“I made shields for them. CoCo promised to keep them charged.”
“Wow. You’ve really taken charge, haven’t you?”
“I delegate a lot.” Josh didn’t want Channie to start feeling guilty for keeping him away from his ‘destiny.’
Channie sighed and returned her head to Josh’s shoulder. “Where are you going when Vengeance comes back?”
“Don’t worry about me, babe. Hunter and I have it all figured out.”
Channie sat up and frowned. “That’s supposed to reassure me?”
Finding Valor Page 29
