Taken (7 page)

Hunter said, “My pleasure,” then leaned back, loosened his belt and belched out loud.
 

Channie wrinkled her nose and fanned the air in front of her face.

“What? It was a burp not a fart.”

Josh stood up and took Channie’s hand like a true gentleman and helped her to her feet. “It was also crude, rude and socially unacceptable.”

Hunter stood up and wiped his hands on the front of his pants, adding to the dark stains already there. “You ready to get to work city-boy?”

Josh’s jeans, the one’s he’d worn yesterday, looked brand new. Channie said, “This ‘city-boy’ cast a cleansing spell on himself last night and just so happened to clean his clothes with the same magic.”

Hunter narrowed his eyes. “That ain’t possible.”

Channie pointed at Josh’s jeans. “That’s the same pants he had on yesterday when he cursed the mice. There’s not a spec of dirt on ‘em.”

Hunter put his hands on his knees and leaned over to get a closer look at Josh’s jeans.
 

Josh put both hands on Hunter’s head and shoved him backwards. “Get away from me you perv.”

A flash of blinding green light was all the warning Channie got before her left shoulder exploded in agony.

This wasn’t just the sensation of pain, like when she and Josh were cursed by the Book of the Dead, but an actual injury that filled her nose with the acrid odor of burning flesh — just like when she’d killed Harvey.

Josh caught her as she collapsed then lowered her onto the ground, cradling her head in his lap. He brushed the hair off her face and said, “You’re okay, baby. You’re okay. Please be okay.” He wasn’t very convincing.
 

Hunter sounded as if he were choking. “Oh, god, I’m so sorry. Channie? Are you all right?”

Josh kept his gaze locked on Channie’s as he ordered Hunter to go find Aunt Wisdom. “Use my car. The keys are hanging on that nail by the door.”
 

Pain stole the air from Channie’s lungs. She wanted to scream, but all she could do was gasp. Her vision turned grey around the edges, then black.

~***~

When Channie woke up, she was lying in bed. A thick white bandage covered her left shoulder and upper arm. She gritted her teeth to keep from moaning and focused on the angry voices in the corner of the room.

“We weren’t even sparring.” Josh sounded defensive as well as angry. “And even if we were, he shouldn’t have used full power.”

Aunt Wisdom said, “He didn’t. If he had, she’d be dead.”

Channie opened her eyes a fraction of an inch and peered between her lashes. Aunt Wisdom and Hunter had Josh backed into a corner, literally. But he stood against the splintered wooden walls with his back straight, his chin up and his arms folded across his chest.

Hunter’s face was scrunched into a mask of contempt. “You didn’t even try to retaliate.”

“I was freaked out about Channie!”

“Oh yeah? Hit me with your best shot.”

Channie hoped Aunt Wisdom would intervene. But she just stood there with her arms crossed, watching.

Hunter said, “What kind of mage are you anyway? I thought your power-name was Valor. You aren’t even valiant enough to protect your own wife.”

“It was your freakin’ curse that burned her.”

“It was your shield that deflected the curse.”

Josh didn’t say anything to that.
Great
. Channie hoped she’d be able to convince him it wasn’t his fault.

Hunter said, “I can tell you right now, that if Channie were my wife and you’d hurt her, I would have blasted you into next week.”

“Channie will never by yours.”

“At the rate you’re going, you ain’t gonna survive the first battle. Your body won’t be cold in the ground before I have Channie in my bed.”

Josh lunged at Hunter and drove his fist into his face. Hunter twisted halfway around before he landed on his butt, facing Channie.
 

Her eyes felt as if they would pop out of her head.
 

Hunter cupped his hand under his bleeding mouth and blinked three times. “He … hit me.”
 

Josh shook his right hand, pain twisting his features then gritted his teeth and pulled it back into a fist. “And I’ll do it again if you so much as look at my wife.”
 

“Why didn’t you just curse me?”

“Hitting you was a lot more satisfying.”

Hunter stood up, putting a good four feet between his face and Josh’s fists. “I’ll bet you cain’t even curse a rabbit. I know for a fact, you cain’t gut one without puking.”

Josh took a step towards Hunter, but Aunt Wisdom put a hand on his chest and said, “Wait.”

About time she intervened.
 

“Tap into your power-well, use that anger to curse him.”

Hunter’s shield went up in a green blur.

Josh’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t.”

“Try.”

“I am trying! I’ve been trying ever since he got here this morning with his stolen pig.” Josh turned towards Hunter. “You think I don’t know what that was all about? You’re just trying to prove that you can take better care of Channie than I can.”

Hunter smiled, exposing bloody teeth, “You put any food on the table yet?”

Josh said, “We aren’t going to live here in this backwater dump forever! I have a trust fund waiting for me — for
us
— when we get home. Not only will I buy Channie her own
vee-hick-ul,
I’m buying her a three bedroom house with two bathrooms and walk-in closets bigger than this stupid shack. You can’t compete with me so don’t even try.”

Hunter said, “All that stuff won’t do her no good if she’s dead. You cain’t protect her the way I can.”

Channie fisted her hands and gasped when the bandage tugged against her blistered shoulder. “I’m not some prize to be won by the peacock with the biggest spread of tail feathers!” She lifted her right hand and reached for Josh.

He turned his back on Hunter, grabbed her hand then knelt beside the bed and kissed the top of her head.

Channie tugged him down to eye-level and said, “I love
you,
Joshua Vincent Abrim
.
I married
you,
not Hunter. We are heart-bound and nothing’s going to change that. Not even death. Your jealousy is insulting.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” Josh dropped his chin to his chest. “But he’s right. I can’t protect you the way he can.”

“I killed that nasty little tracker that tried to rape me without any help from either of you.”

“But that was before you lost your powers.”

“There’s more than one way to kill a skunk.” Channie pictured the gun in her backpack under the bed and resolved to begin target practice as soon as her shoulder healed.

~***~

Aunt Wisdom drove into Whistler’s Gulch for supplies and returned with Christmas gifts for everyone, even Hunter. She gave the boys wicked-looking automatic knives. When she mentioned that it was illegal for anyone other than law-enforcement or military personnel to own or carry the “Benchmade Infidels” … Hunter and Josh’s matching grins widened so far it looked painful.
 

She gave Channie three boxes of ammunition for the Glock 26 she’d taken from Harvey and a set of holsters that could be worn under a jacket, around her ankle under boot-cut jeans (which she also gave her) and a thigh band for the rare occasions Channie actually wore a skirt.
 

Channie was embarrassed that no one had a gift for Aunt Wisdom, but when she apologized, Aunt Wisdom said, “The best gift you could give me is to keep each other safe. So keep your weapons within arms reach at all times.”

She stayed until the fourth of January, keeping an eye on Channie’s burns, teaching her how to clean and handle her gun and of course, working with Josh. After two weeks of grueling, and unsuccessful training, she announced her diagnosis of the problem. They were all sitting around the fire pit, eating a breakfast of scrambled eggs, fresh bacon and cornbread.

“I believe that Josh’s power-name, Valor, is interfering with his desire to curse Hunter.” She smiled at Josh, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You can’t help feeling indebted to him for his devotion to Channie. It wouldn’t be valiant to curse a man that wants to protect the woman you love, no matter what his motivation might be.”

“So how am I supposed to practice?” Josh dropped a morsel of cornbread by his feet and made a kissing sound with his mouth. A chipmunk darted past a squirrel and snatched the treat. The squirrel chittered and twitched its tail then gave chase, but the chipmunk was faster. Josh chuckled and said, “You snooze you lose.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “Maybe you should grow a pair and start cursing animals.”

Before Channie could defend Josh, Aunt Wisdom said, “Hunter, that’s not helpful.”

Hunter stood up and scraped his scraps into the fire pit. “Neither is feeding varmints this close to the shack. Next thing you know, it’ll be squirrels raiding the pantry instead of mice.”

Aunt Wisdom said, “He’s got a point. Besides, it isn’t good for the animals to grow dependent on an unreliable food source.”

Josh nodded. “You’re right. Sorry.”

Channie said, “Aunt Wisdom, I’d like to talk to you in private if that’s alright.”

“Of course. Let’s go inside, I need to gather a few things before I leave.”

Channie sat on the bed and bit her thumbnail as she watched Aunt Wisdom pack her medical supplies into her green and black plaid tote.
 

“Spit it out, sweetheart. I don’t have all day.”

“If Josh isn’t ever going to be able to curse Hunter, there’s no reason for me to refuse to perform my wifely duty.”

“You getting horny?”

“Aunt Wisdom!” Channie’s mouth fell open.
 

Aunt Wisdom laughed. “Just be careful with that shoulder. It’s healed up quite nicely but the skin’s still a little fragile.”

~***~

When Josh came inside to fetch Aunt Wisdom’s bags, he froze in the doorway. Their bond tugged at Channie’s heart, but it wasn’t painful. She smiled and released all the passionate feelings she’d kept locked away for the past month. Josh’s eyes widened.

Aunt Wisdom smiled and said, “I’ll just say my good byes and ask Hunter to carry my bags to the truck. See you in a couple of weeks.” She picked up her bags and said, “And Josh?”

His gaze never left Channie’s. “Yeah?”

“There’s a box of condoms under the bed. No magical birth control until Channie’s monthly cycles return and stabilize. I don’t think she’ll get pregnant until they do, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Aunt Wisdom narrowed her eyes at Channie. “I hope you didn’t permanently damage your reproductive organs by casting so many moon-curses on yourself. Magic has consequences.”

“I know, I know.” Channie tried to sound contrite, but she didn’t miss the monthly inconvenience and cramps.

Josh didn’t even wait for Aunt Wisdom to pull the door shut behind her before he grabbed Channie around the waist and lifted her off her feet to kiss her. He pulled her hard against his body and assaulted her mouth like some kind of animal then tossed her onto the bed and yanked his shirt off.

He wasn’t exactly rough, in fact he was extra careful with her shoulder. But it was nothing like their wedding night or any of the other times they’d had sex. As they’d both grown more confident, they’d expressed their love for each other with more passion, but it was still an act of love — a spiritual joining of heart, mind, body and soul.
 

This was not. At least it was over quickly.
 

Josh avoided her shoulder when he collapsed on top of her, but Channie couldn’t get him off her fast enough.
 

He chuckled and rolled onto his back. “Wow. That was amazing.”

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
 

Josh rolled onto his side and trailed a fingertip along the outside edge of her newly healed skin. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“My shoulder is just fine, thank you very much.”

He said, “I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you. It’s just that it’s been so long and—”

“It’s been just as long for me.”

“Give me few minutes and we can do it again.”

“No. We can’t.” Channie didn’t want to do it again.

“Sure we can.” He rolled onto his side and slid his knee across the top of Channie’s thighs. “In fact, we can do it again right now.”

She pressed her legs together and said, “I’m not in the mood.”

Josh threw the covers off his naked body, scooted to the end of the mattress and got out of bed without touching her. He jerked his boxers and jeans on then started cussing when he couldn’t find his socks.

“Josh, what are you doing?”

“I need to get out of here.” He jammed his feet into his shoes, without socks.
 

A cold wave of fear quenched Channie’s anger. Their bond was stronger—even after that unsatisfying quickie—but a magical bond was no match for selfishness. She’d hurt Josh’s feelings on purpose. He’d given in to his carnal desires with no thought to what she wanted, but he’d been swept away by his desire for her. It was actually flattering now that she thought about it. “Come back to bed.”

He shook his head and grabbed his car keys off the nail by the door. “Not in the mood.”

“Josh! Don’t go.”

He paused for a moment, but kept his back turned. One white-knuckled hand gripping the door frame.
 

“Please, Josh. I love you.”
 

“I love you, too. But maybe that’s not enough.”

~***~

Channie sat in bed, stunned, for ten minutes then got up and threw her clothes on. She didn’t have much of a chance of catching up to Josh before he got to his car if he decided to run the entire five miles. After the blizzard, Aunt Wisdom made him park it in a cedar grove on the other side of the quarry so it wouldn’t be visible from the air. Apparently the Veyjiviks had a tracker that was also a helicopter pilot. She didn’t think Josh would leave her here, unprotected, but she hadn’t thought he’d walk out on her either. What if he didn’t come back? What if he decided she wasn’t worth all the trouble?