Finding Valor (8 page)

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.

Josh ran towards them, afraid of what he’d find, but Hunter shoved Eric off his chest before Josh knelt beside him. “Are you okay? Is Eric okay?”

Hunter grinned at him. “That was amazing!”

“You’re crazy, you know that? I could have killed you both.” Josh grabbed Hunter’s forearms and helped him to his feet.

“If you’d of used full power you would have.” Hunter dusted off the back of his pants with his hands. “I think I need you to protect me instead of the other way around.”

Eric groaned but Josh ignored him. “Does that mean I can go with you?”

Hunter tapped the center of Josh’s chest. “Search your heart. What’s it telling you?”

Live your life as you did before, when the time is right, you’ll go to war.
 

The words popped into Josh’s mind so clearly and so suddenly, he knew without a doubt that he had his answer. He had to stay. He also knew it was time for Hunter to leave. “Are you going to tell Kassie good-bye before you go?”

“I ain’t very good at good-byes. Tell her it was good seeing her again, and…good luck with the baby.”

Josh’s heart ached as he shook Hunter’s hand.

Hunter pulled Josh into a hug and thumped his back. “We’ll see each other again. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

An overwhelming sense of despair pressed down on Channie when she stepped inside the cabin. Cobwebs hung like lace from every corner. Dust covered every surface. The musty scent of abandonment hung in the air. They’d had their share of hard times in that simple log cabin, but they’d also known joy. They’d been a family.

Channie closed her eyes. She could almost believe that Abby and the trips were upstairs, sleeping. And Daddy was out back, checking on his latest batch of moonshine. Momma was in the kitchen…

“Channie! Snap out of it.” Momma smacked the back of her head with an open palm. “Unload the car and get this place cleaned up. I’ll be in my room.”

On the morning of the third day, Momma announced she was leaving. “Don’t go off our property. In fact, don’t even go outside unless it’s to use the privy or feed the chickens.”

“Where’re you going?”

“To go find Wisdom.”

“She’s holed up somewhere with her rebel army. If the Veyjivik trackers can’t find her, I doubt you can.”

“She’s my flesh and blood. I’ll find her.”

Channie didn’t want to piss off Momma, so she didn’t argue. “Take me with you.”

“No.”

That was it. No explanation, no apology. Just ‘no.’
 

“What if a tracker comes while you’re gone?” Channie didn’t like the idea of staying behind with nothing but a shotgun for protection. Momma hadn’t spent much time making the new plants grow. Channie watered them, but she didn’t have the ability to recharge Momma’s protection spells. The magic wouldn’t last more than a couple of days.

“Why do you think I spent good money on that shotgun?” Momma pointed at the twelve-gauge in the corner. “If you see a tracker, shoot him.”

“What if there’s more than one? What if they disable me before I can get a shot off?” Channie knew it was risky to piss off Momma, but it would be even riskier to leave things unsettled. “If they knock me out or get the drop on me and force me to leave after you’ve told me not to, my death pledge will kill me.”

“I doubt that they’d bother with kidnapping you.”

“When Harvey captured me, he said there was a huge reward on my head. You can’t sacrifice me if I’m gone…or dead.”

“If it’s completely out of your control, then I release you from my order to stay in the cabin.” Momma narrowed her eyes. “But you can’t go willingly. You have to put up a fight, unless you believe that doing so will result in your death. You must constantly strive to find your way back to me if you’re taken.”

Channie nodded and whispered, “Thank you.”

Momma had been gone less than twenty-four hours when Channie felt a distinctively male energy approach the cabin.

She grabbed the shotgun and considered her options. Her death pledge wouldn’t kill her if she were taken against her will. But would she be any better off with a tracker? The memory of what Harvey tried to do to her twisted her gut. She didn’t have magic to protect herself anymore. She’d rather die than have some filthy tracker’s hands on her body.
 

The air pressure inside the cabin increased as the tracker prodded Momma’s protection spells. Channie hadn’t expected them to hold, but she still jumped when he broke through.