Taken (10 page)

He rocketed up the other side of the ravine, cleared the edge with a kick-out to the right and let a out whoop of exultation — momentarily forgetting the life and death nature of this race.
 

An answering shout of terror brought him back to Earth. Josh lifted his right elbow and lowered his chin to peek under his arm — just in time to see Rider sail over the top of the fallen tree.
 

 
Josh clicked his left foot loose and planted it on the ground as he yanked his bike sideways into a power-skid. It took a good three seconds to come to a complete stop. When he turned around, Rider was looking straight at him, eyes wide but unfocused. There was something surreal about the brown spittle leaking out of his slack-jawed and gaping mouth, dripping off his beard.

Josh ditched his bike and ran back up the ravine. He knelt beside Rider and reached out to check for a pulse. Rider blinked and grabbed Josh’s wrist. “I cain’t feel my legs.”

Rider’s horse stuck his head through the opening between the tree and the overgrown root and neighed softly.

Rider smiled and said, “It’s not your fault, Buddy.” He turned his head and locked his gaze on Josh’s face. “You ever been on a horse?”

“No.” Josh removed his helmet and set it on the ground.

“I already know you ain’t a healer, so ain’t no point asking you to fix my back.”

“I healed a cut.” Josh pulled the gash in his jeans apart to show Rider the scar across his thigh.
 

Rider looked at it and snorted. “Like I said. You ain’t no healer.”

“It might not look very pretty but it feels perfectly fine.”

“My back’s broke. I need a Master Healer.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Even if Wisdom were in the area, she’d be more likely to kill the man than heal him.
But Rider was right. Josh had no idea how he’d healed his leg. Trying to fix a broken back with magic he didn’t understand was beyond reckless.

Rider’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to lay out here and die of thirst or get ate up by varmints. Just kill me.”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

“Then get my gun outta my saddle bag so I can do it myself.”
 

“No.”
 

“Will you at least put me on Buddy? Just lay me across the saddle, he’ll take me back to camp.”

“If I move you, it could cause permanent damage to your spinal cord.”

“Ain’t nothing more permanent than death.”

“How far are we from the nearest town?”

“You ain’t planning on just leaving me here to die, are you? After I done went and fixed your arm?”

“I’m going to go get help.”

“Whistler’s Gulch is about twelve miles from here, but there ain’t nothing but Empties living there.”

“Empties may not be able to fix your back, but they can save your life.”

“I’d rather die out here than let one of them quacks put me under and cut me up like a Thanksgiving turkey.”

“Really? Because those are your only choices. And if you want me to go get help, I need to leave now. There’s only a few hours of light left and I can’t ride technical terrain in the dark.”

Rider cocked his head to the side. “You might be the bravest mage I ever met, but you are without a doubt, the dumbest. Just cast a bright-eyes spell on yourself.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Oh good lord.” Rider rolled his eyes then squinted.
 

Josh’s eyes stung as if he’d opened them under water in an over-chlorinated swimming pool. But with each blink, his vision improved until he could see everything with perfect clarity.
 

Rider said, “Well, don’t just stand there gawking at everything. Get on into town.”

“How do I get there?”

“Once you get to the river, just follow it downstream. It’ll lead you right to the Mad Dog Saloon.”

“If I bring help, will you promise to quit tracking me?”

“By the time I find a master-healer, it’ll be too late for ‘em to fix my back. My tracking days are over.”

“I’m sorry about your back, but I’m glad you won’t be hunting me anymore.”

“You gave me the best chase of my life, Jet. I’m glad I didn’t have to kill you.”

“What about Jimmy?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about Jimmy. Except he’s probably followed your trail back to your vehicle and sold it to the highest bidder in Whistler’s Gulch.”

Josh’s heart stopped. Then pounded against his sternum. If Jimmy found his car, he’d find Channie. “No!”

“Those ignorant Empties ain’t got enough sense to hide it. Just file a stolen car report and as long as the fella that buys your car ain’t related to the police. You’ll get it back.”

Josh wasn’t worried about his car. He was worried about his wife. He prayed that Hunter had gotten her out of the shack and taken her to one of Wisdom’s safe houses before Jimmy got there. He was tempted to seek her through their heart-bond, but if he opened it, would that make it easier for Jimmy to find her? It wasn’t worth the risk. Josh wanted to kick himself for storming out of the shack without his phone. He didn’t know whether he should just ride into town to call Channie and Hunter or try to make it to the shack before Jimmy.
 

“How long do you think it’ll take me to get to Whistler’s Gulch?”
 

“The way you ride? I’d guess about fifteen minutes.”

Town it was. “I gotta go.”

A handful of pebbles skittered down the side of the ravine.

“Hey, City Boy. Are you okay?”

Hunter Feenie?
“What are you doing here?”
Had he misunderstood Josh’s warning spell?
“You’re supposed to be protecting Channie!”

“She sent me to find you.”

“No.” Josh dropped to his knees.

Hunter half skipped half slid into the ravine. “Hey, Uncle Rider, I thought I recognized your horse. What are you doing out here?”

“Hunter! We have to get back to the shack! Now!”

“Why?”

“Because your
Uncle’s
partner is going to follow my trail back to Channie.”

Rider said, “Channie? That wouldn’t be Enchantment Kerns, now would it?”

Hunter’s eyes bugged out as he sucked both lips inside his mouth and shook his head.

Josh wanted to knock Hunter and Rider’s heads together.

“Hunter, did you drive my car?” Hopefully Jimmy would follow the Rav4’s trail instead of climbing the seven-mile hill to investigate the shack.
 

“Channie told me I could. In fact she insisted.”

“That’s fine. Where is it?”

“It’s about three miles up yonder.” Hunter pointed towards the top of a very steep hill. “The terrain’s too rough, even for that fancy vehicle.”

Josh used a series of exposed roots to climb out of the ravine. He needed Hunter to take him to the car. But Hunter and Rider were too busy yelling at each other.

“Hunter Feenie. You been playing me for a fool!”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“I knowed I should have made you swear a death-pledge to prove your loyalty. You ain’t no better’n your traitorous momma.”

“I’m already bound by a death-pledge and you leave my momma outta this.”

Josh picked up a fist sized rock and threw it at Hunter’s feet. “Come on, we have to go! You can have your little family reunion once I’m sure
my
family’s safe.”

Rider said, “Your family? Did you go and marry that little Kern’s bitch?”

Rage filled Josh’s power-well. Pressure built behind his eyes and inside his ears. He tried, but he couldn’t curse Rider. He wasn’t surprised his power-name wouldn’t let him curse an injured man. That would show a definite lack of valor
.
But all that excess power needed to go somewhere. Josh pulled it together and blasted a dead oak tree out of the ground.

That got everyone’s attention.
 

After a three second delay, Rider said, “Ya know, when you’re riled up you look just like … naw, cain’t be. Unless … How old are you, Jet?”

Josh ignored Rider and screamed at Hunter, “We have to go! NOW!”

“Calm down, she’s in the car.
I’d
never leave her unprotected. Unlike some people I know.”

Rider said, “So, Vengeance went and sired himself a bastard that went and married a Kerns. Well I’ll be damned.”

Josh was too relieved by the news of Channie’s close proximity to be angry with Hunter or worried about the secrets Rider was unraveling. “Come on, Hunter. We still need to go. I don’t like the idea of her being alone.”

He opened his heart and felt the strength of their connection. He also felt Channie’s terror as the sound of a gunshot silenced every creature in the forest.

Josh swayed, teetering on the brink of the ravine as the world once again tilted on its axis. The only thing not spinning was Hunter’s face. Josh locked his gaze on Hunter’s, willing him to say the words that would put his world back together.
Tell me the sound didn’t come from Channie’s direction.
Hunter’s chalky-white, terror-stricken face was a mirror of his own.
 

“WHERE IS SHE!” Their bond was still strong. Channie was still alive.

Hunter blinked then turned and ran up the ravine. He shimmied through the gap between the root and the fallen tree and whistled. Buddy answered with a low nicker and trotted up to him, extending his neck to blow on Hunter’s face. Hunter took the reins and mounted the horse.

Josh ran along the top edge of the ditch and caught up to him just as he and Buddy exploded out of the ravine. “Take me with you!”

“You’ll just slow me down.” And without so much as a backwards glance, Hunter took off.

If the incline had been just a little less severe, Josh would have ridden his bike, but he’d be faster on foot. At least Buddy left an easy enough trail to follow.

Another gunshot rang out. Josh screamed Channie’s name, but there was no answer. Their connection was still strong. Channie was still terrified, but after that second shot, a new emotion rushed through their bond and slammed into his chest. Shock followed by wave after wave of grief.

He’d assumed that if one of them were seriously injured, the other would feel it through the bond, but what if … god, he couldn’t bear to think it … what if the bond stayed strong until they died?

His lungs were on fire. So were his legs. But he didn’t slow down. He pushed his body to the limit, hit the wall and kept right on going. He wished with all his heart that he were stronger, faster.
 

And then he was.

Magic poured out of his power-well and flowed through his veins, invigorating every cell in his body. Buddy flew past on his right, without Hunter, headed back down the mountain. Josh barely noticed. His car was in sight.

Both front doors were wide open. Jimmy was on his back, about five feet away from the car, lying in a pool of blood. The top half of his head was missing. Channie was not in the car. Josh ran around to the other side. She was on her knees, covered in blood, leaning over Hunter pressing both hands against his right shoulder. The gun she’d taken from Harvey on the ground beside her.
 

“I shot Hunter. I shot both of them. He was on a horse … I thought he was a tracker ... Help me.”

Josh dropped beside her and covered her hands with his. He rocked forward, putting all his weight in his arms, but bright red arterial blood continued to pulse out from beneath their hands.

Channie’s voice quavered as she spoke. “You have to heal him, Josh.”

“Tell me what to do.”

~***~

Nothing Channie said made sense. Trying to heal Hunter was every bit as hard as trying to curse him.
 

And that’s when the epiphany struck.
Trying
was interfering. He’d healed his own leg without
trying
. And he’d given himself super-human strength without
trying
. If he was going to heal Hunter, he’d need to do it without
trying.

Josh said, “Channie, I need you to stop crying and be quiet.”

She sniffed and hiccuped then pressed her lips together and scrunched her face, pulling her features together like a drawstring purse.

Josh closed his eyes and thought about how Hunter had raced to Channie’s aide without hesitation. He thought about how much Channie loved him. Because she did love Hunter. It was nothing more than friendship, but it was a deep bond nonetheless. If Hunter died, not only would she grieve his loss, but she’d never forgive herself, knowing she’d fired the gun that killed him.
 

Hunter had to live. For Channie’s sake.

“Channie, move your hands out of the way.”

Josh maintained pressure as she slid her hands out from beneath his. Magic swelled up from a place deep inside Josh’s chest. He focused on his desire for Hunter to survive. No, not just survive. To be healed. A warm tingling sensation flowed out of his heart, down his arms and into his hands.
 

Hunter’s bleeding slowed, then stopped. A lump formed beneath Josh’s palms as his strength left his body. His eyelids fluttered shut against his will. Channie’s arms wound around his chest. She pulled him onto her lap and kissed his forehead. The last thing he heard as he lost consciousness was “Love
is
enough.”

Channie wept with relief when Hunter opened his eyes and squeezed her hand. But she was still worried about him. He’d lost a lot of blood. She was worried about Josh too. She’d never witnessed such a dramatic healing. He’d passed out and collapsed into her arms as soon as he finished.
 

Hunter slid his left hand across his chest and ran his fingers over the lump of flesh scarring his shoulder. “Where’s Ms. Wisdom?”

“She’s not here. Josh healed you.”

“Josh?” He lifted his head about an inch off the ground, then fell back with a groan.
 

“Does it hurt?”
 

Channie’d been too concerned about saving Hunter’s life to ask Josh if he could cast a pain-away spell.

Hunter let go of Channie’s hand and lifted his arm over his head. “It’s just a little stiff that’s all. Did the bullet go all the way through?”