Believe: The Complete Channie Series (15 page)

Savvy
kept his hands linked behind Josh’s neck but leaned back to look him in the eye. “It’s too cold in the park after dark. But if you want to play with Channie at night, you can climb up the front of the house and go in through her bedroom window.”

Several people standing in line for the privies snickered. Josh’s ears turned red and Chastity’s magic boiled over. It wasn’t as bad as last Thursday, but it was bad enough. Channie tried to redirect the curse at the young man waiting in line behind Josh, but Chastity’s magic was attracted to the source of the lustful energy and that source was Josh. He turned his back and tried to set Savvy down, before the curse hit him, but there wasn’t enough time. The curse was selective. Not only did it ignore the target she’d chosen, it didn’t so much as ruffle a hair on Savvy’s head. But there was no way to hide a curse like that from a mage, no matter how young they were.

Savvy wiggled out of Josh’s arms and glared at Channie. “That was mean!”

“Josh! Are you okay?”

He nodded his head but since he didn’t answer her, Channie knew he was lying.

She said, “Elijah, when the trips are done in the privy, take them back to my momma. I need to...talk to Josh.”

Channie wanted to help Josh but she couldn’t even hold his hand without the risk of triggering another curse. He led her to a travel trailer and walked in without knocking.

He said, “It’s not much, but it’s convenient. Although, it would be a lot more convenient if they’d fix the damn toilet.” He opened the toy-sized refrigerator a crack then slammed it shut. “Jeeze that’s nasty. Dad never remembers to clean it out after a race.”

Josh waited until Channie sat down then slid behind the formica table bolted to the floor and flopped onto a fake leather bench across from her. “If this keeps up, I don’t think I’m going to be able to race in my next moto.”

His face was still chalky but his cheeks were pink. “Isn’t there some way you could turn off the magic? Just for a few hours?”

“I wish. I’ve tried everything to control it. But Momma and Daddy used some kind of ancient magic they didn’t understand, and had no business messing with, to change my power name. They have no idea how to undo the damage they’ve caused.”

“They want to change your name back?”

“I’m more powerful than both of them put together. Their shields are useless against Chastity’s magic, so yeah, they want to give me my old name back.”

“Mages have shields?”

“It’s the only defense we have against each other’s spells.” Channie’s mouth dropped open. She fell back against the cushions, letting her hands flop to the side. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

“Think of what?”

“I’ve been going at this the wrong way. I can’t change what my parent’s did to me. I can’t keep from cursing you every time you feel a little...frisky. But maybe I can build a shield for you that would protect you from all magic—including Chastity’s.”

“What are you waiting for? Do it!”

Josh’s excitement was contagious, but Channie needed to curb her enthusiasm so she could concentrate on the process. She’d never tried to create a shield for someone else, but it was probably a lot like raising her own.

“Come on, Channie.”

“Calm down. I can’t do anything while you’re radiating so much lust. You’re about two seconds away from triggering Chastity’s curse again.”

Josh closed his eyes and started muttering. Channie had to enhance her hearing to figure out what he was saying. “… Maggots, dead fish, fried liver—”

“What are you doing?”

Josh opened one eye and grinned. “Thinking of gross stuff.”

“Does that help?”

“Almost as much as a cold shower.”

Channie raised her own shield several times and studied the interplay of willpower, magic and energy. She focused on calming Chastity’s energy then tapped into her heart-of-hearts and Enchantment’s magic. If she used even a tiny bit of Chastity’s energy to build Josh’s shield, it wouldn’t be able to repel the curse.

“Okay. I think I’ve got it figured out. You sure you want me to do this?”

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

“It’s just a shield. The worst that can happen, is that it won’t work.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

Channie closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could on Enchantment’s magic while she constructed Josh’s shield. It was by far the most powerful and difficult spell she’d ever attempted. The shield looked like a giant soap bubble as it floated across the room. It encompassed Josh completely then imploded with a loud pop—fitting itself to his form like a second skin.

“Holy freakin’ cow.” Josh stood up and ran his hands over his body. “That feels amazing!”

Channie collapsed against the cushions and smiled. “You can feel it?”

“Hell, yeah, I can feel it.”

“Can you see it?”

Josh held his arms in front of his body and rotated his hands. “No. Can you?”

“Yes, but it’s fading. It should be invisible in a few minutes.” Which was a very good thing. If Daddy learned that Josh was immune to magic, there was no telling what he’d do to him. Josh’s shield wouldn’t protect him from physical violence.

“What’s it feel like?”

“Like you gave me some sort of super-hero suit. I feel like I can do anything. It’s how I feel when I’m in the starting gate before a race. I don’t want to sound like a stuck-up jerk—but, I feel invincible. Only, it’s not just about racing. I feel that way about...everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, take you for instance.” Josh ran his hands over his chest again.

Dang it! Channie wished he’d quit doing that. She squeezed her eyes shut then blinked them open.

Josh said, “Before you gave me this shield, I felt nervous around you all the time. I never knew what to say or do and I was so afraid you’d think I was a dork that it turned me into one—like some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Now, I don’t care what you think of me.”

“You don’t?”

“That didn’t come out right. What I should have said, is that I’m not worried about what you think of me. It’s obvious you like me.”

“It is?”

“Yeah.” Josh grinned at her. “You like me a lot.”

“I do?”

“Come here.” His voice was seductive.

“No.”

Josh’s smile faded. A flicker of doubt passed behind his eyes. Apparently—thankfully—his shield was only skin deep. “Don’t you want to test it? That’s why you kissed me in the park wasn’t it? To test your power name before school started.”

“Yes.”

Josh dropped all pretense of seduction. “And all this time I thought it was because of my bean-pole body and awkward personality.”

Channie giggled in spite of herself. The relief that washed over her when the old Josh resurfaced was a revelation. She did like him—a lot. 

He said, “So, do you want to test this thing or not?”

Hell, yeah, she wanted to test his shield, but for once she managed to keep her impulsive thoughts to herself. She said, “Maybe we should wait until after your last race, in case it doesn’t work.”

Josh frowned, pouting like a child that didn’t get his way.

Channie fought the urge to laugh. “We can test it as soon as you’re done racing. I promise.”

When
Channie and Josh got back to the Abrim's tarp, Momma and Daddy both shot her looks full of meaning, but neither of them said a word. Momma’s narrow-eyed glare didn’t bother Channie in the least, but Daddy looked like he’d just won the lottery. He grinned at her and said, “It smells like someone burned a skillet full of onions.”

Channie just smiled. At least the stench masked the scent of Enchantment’s magic. But it didn’t mask the new and improved Josh. When she examined him analytically, Channie didn’t find any physical differences, but something had changed. Instead of a skinny, awkward kid, she now saw a beautiful young man with a lean, powerful body. His eyes had always mesmerized her—now, they held her prisoner. She could not look away.

Was the shield making him more attractive? She’d used Enchantment’s magic, so it was a definite possibility. Or maybe it was just his newfound self-confidence. He was chatting Momma up like she was his favorite aunt or something.

Channie was still trying to figure it out when a couple of girls walked by and stopped to talk to him. Josh flirted with them shamelessly, as if Channie weren’t even there.

She was already mad, but when Josh introduced her as, “Channie Belks, a friend of mine from school,” Channie’s stomach twisted itself into a knot. She tried to smile at the two girls, Amanda and Lauren, but her facial muscles refused to cooperate. 

She couldn’t fool herself any longer. She was falling hard for Josh and the last thing she wanted was competition.

Channie nearly lost control when Amanda tousled Josh’s hair. She wanted to curse them both. Instead, she said, “Josh, What are you doing? They’re going to start the race without you.”

He grabbed his bike and ran up the hill.

The starting gate hit the dirt with a thud. Channie didn’t even blink. She saw the flash of sunlight on metal and the brightly colored uniforms of the racers as they flew down the track. She heard the cheering crowd and the announcer’s frenzied report of the race. She smelled the dust in the air and the sweaty bodies all around her. She registered every detail. But she couldn’t process it. All she could think about was Josh. And testing the strength of his shield...by kissing him.

If the crowd weren’t chanting, “Jet, Jet, Jet,” Channie wouldn’t have realized he’d won the race. Even Momma and Daddy were cheering for him. Channie clapped her hands, but her mouth was so dry she couldn’t talk, much less cheer.

When Josh showed up, he was surrounded by a crowd of rowdy kids. Amanda had both her hands wrapped around Josh’s upper arm. She was bouncing on her toes and squealing like a stuck pig.

“Oh my god Jet, you are so amazing!”

It took every bit of Channie’s self-control to keep from cursing the stupid girl.

“Channie? Did you see my race?”

“Yes.” Stay calm. Amanda doesn’t matter. Josh is not interested in her. Channie read his energy just to be sure. The little slut was annoying him. Good.

“Well? What did you think?”

Channie could barely think, much less follow the conversation with Chastity’s energy boiling inside her power-well. If she did not want to test his shield right here in front everyone, she needed to get control of herself. “It was nice.”

“Nice?”

Josh tried to squirm out of Amanda’s clutches, but she refused to let go. She sneered at Channie then turned to Josh and said, “Well, I thought you were fan-freaking-tastic. I can’t wait to see you race again next week.”

Josh said, “Thanks,” but his gaze never left Channie’s face.

Amanda tugged on his arm until his ear was level with her mouth. She glared at Channie and said, “My parents will be at the track for at least an hour watching my brothers’ races. Come with me to our camper and I’ll show you how amazing I can be.”

Josh peeled Amanda’s fingers off his arm and said, “Not interested.”

Amanda tossed her hair over her shoulder, said, “Your loss,” and grabbed the arm of one of the other boys. She swung her hips as she sauntered off with the crowd of noisy kids towards the track.

Josh said, “Don’t let Amanda get to you. She makes a game out of seeing how many winners she can bag at each race. Just ignore her. I do.”

“Okay.”

Josh cocked his head to the side and studied Channie’s face. 

“Channie? What’s going on? Do you feel alright?”

“I’m fine.” She knew she wasn’t very convincing, but she had to stay focused on controlling Chastity’s power.

Josh grabbed Channie’s elbows and steadied her while leading her back to their parents. She hadn’t even realized she was swaying on her feet.

He said, “Mrs. Belks, I think Channie’s sick.”

Momma had her hands full breaking up a fight between Zeal and Courage. Both boys had scratches on their faces and Zeal had a bite mark on his hand. Momma didn’t even look at Channie while she scanned her. “She’s fine.”