Believe: The Complete Channie Series (28 page)

Even without touching it, the book still spoke to Channie...which should have been warning enough to leave it alone.

Why not use the magic so dearly bought? Your refusal will not remove the debt from your mother’s head. Your parents bound you with an ancient curse and took away your right to choose your own path. Your name, not your mother’s, is burned into this cover. See how the letters still glow. Do you not have the courage to free yourself?

Channie touched the book again. This time it was Chastity’s magic that responded and filled her with dread. It told her to run away and put as much distance between herself and this evil book as possible.

Of course Chastity didn’t like the book. If it broke the curse and restored Enchantment to its rightful place, Chastity’s magic would be destroyed.

Channie inched her hands under the book as if it were a sleeping copperhead. It glowed brighter and poured its magic into her as she lifted it out of the trunk. She bit back her fear then gritted her teeth. She unwound the silver chain from the heart-shaped button with trembling fingers.

Tendrils of smoke rose from the book, filling the air with incense—sandalwood and lemons layered over a hint of musk. It smelled like Josh.

She whipped her head around towards the door but he wasn’t there. Another scent mixed with his...it was familiar, sweet and clean.

Was she imagining it? Chastity’s magic—like any other curse— reeked of burnt onions. But Enchantment’s magic—when it had been her sole source of power—had smelled like lavender and sage.

Maybe the book was trying to give her a message. Channie closed her eyes and inhaled the heady aroma that was a mixture of Josh’s scent and Enchantment’s magic. Message received. This book was meant for both of them.

Channie
sat on the floor and caressed the book as it filled her head with the magical scent of the boy she loved and the girl she used to be.

The sound of Josh’s voice yanked her out of her musings and sobered her up immediately.

He said, “I scrubbed until I ran out of hot water, but I can’t get this red stuff to come off.” Josh’s lanky frame cut angles across the doorway and cast sharp-edged shadows into the hall. His face was hidden under the towel he was using to dry his hair. When he lowered it, the glow from the book illuminated his face and danced in his eyes. “Whoa! Is that magic?”

“Yes, it’s a book that belonged to one of my ancestors.”

“What does it say?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t opened it yet.”

“Okaaay.” He dragged the word out and folded his arms across his chest.

“I was waiting for you.” Channie hadn’t realized that was what she was doing until that moment, but as soon as she uttered the words she knew it was true.

Josh adjusted his robe and retied the belt. It was short on him. The hem hit about three inches above his knees. But it was wide enough to wrap around him twice.

Channie patted the carpet next to her. “Come here.”

Josh glanced at the broken window. “Why don’t we take the book back to your room? It’s cold in here.”

“Good idea.” Channie felt fine, but Josh was shivering.

She sat down on the floor in her room and leaned against the sideboard of her bed. Josh sat beside her and traced the letters of her name. “It looks important.”

“Oh, it is. Believe me.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Extremely. Do you want to wait for me in the hall while I open it?”

“Hell no.” Josh frowned, and reached for the book. “In fact, why don’t you let me open it.”

“No.” Channie jerked the book away from him and clutched it to her chest. “I’ll do it.”

“Maybe we should do it together.”

For some reason, Josh’s suggestion rang true. They needed to open the book together. Channie lowered the book and rested it on Josh’s knee.

He sniffed the air a couple of times, then inhaled deeply. “It smells really good.”

“It smells like us.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. That’s why I’m letting you help me. The book was meant for both of us.”

Josh pinched the top corner of the cover between his thumb and forefinger while Channie gripped the bottom corner. They opened the book. A cloud of oily black smoke poured from its pages.

The fumes made Channie’s eyes water and burned her nose. It was worse than the exhaust from their old VW bus. Worse than the hot tar the road crews used to patch the pot-holes in the parking lot at Wal-Mart. Worse than the toxic cloud that filled the valley when Hunter Feenie lit Old Man McCray’s lifetime collection of tractor tires on fire.

Channie tried to close the book, but her hands refused to obey her brain. Her nose and throat were on fire. She couldn’t see Josh through the thick cloud of toxic fumes, but she could hear him coughing and wheezing. Trying to choke out one word. Her name.

Channie tried to answer, but she couldn’t breathe and she couldn’t let go of the book. She managed to lean towards Josh as her mind shut down. He must have done the same, because she wound up lying on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart slowdown and fade as darkness claimed her.

When
Channie regained consciousness, she wasn’t sure how long she and Josh had lain on the floor with their hands glued to the evil book.

Electric prickles coursed under her skin, but it wasn’t magic. It was just a lack of circulation. Her free arm was trapped under Josh’s back. His heart was beating at a normal rate. He was just unconscious, not dead. She tried to slide her arm out without disturbing him, then changed her mind and prodded him with her shoulder. Gently at first, then harder.

“Josh. Wake up.” Channie yanked her arm free and shook him again. “Come on, Josh. Wake up, baby.”

His eyes darted back and forth under his eyelids like minnows in a shallow pond. Channie sighed with relief when they finally fluttered open. Josh lifted his chin and said, “Whoa...What happened?”

“I’m not sure. But we seem to have triggered a spell when we opened the book. Are you okay?”

“I think so. Are you?”

“Yes. But we’re stuck to the book.”

“Not again.” Josh groaned and said, “Can you unstick us?”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Maybe the answer’s in the book.” Josh shifted his body and sat up. And since Channie was half-way lying on his chest, he brought her with him. She shifted around until she was sitting beside him, their thighs pressed together. The book was open to the first page. But it was blank.

Channie wasn’t about to risk touching it with her free hand. She tried to turn the pages by blowing on the edges, but no matter how hard she blew, it didn’t so much as rustle a page. She might as well try to blow over a tree.

She dropped her chin to her chest and said, “I don’t know what to do.” 

Josh kissed the top of Channie’s head. “It’s okay.”

“I don’t think you understand. This is dark magic. Ancient magic. Illegal magic.”

“Come on, baby, it can’t be
that
bad.”

Channie’s voice wavered as her heart hammered in her chest. The lump in her throat made it difficult to speak, but Josh deserved to know the truth. So, she told him everything she knew about the book, including how it was created. “I thought it would show us how to break Chastity’s curse. I should have known better.” She’d known it was evil before she ever touched the damn thing. The book had seduced her by promising to break Chastity’s curse. But at what cost? “If we aren’t careful, this book will kill us.”

Josh shifted his hips and used his free hand to guide Channie’s head into the hollow of his shoulder. “Don’t cry, baby. We’ll just do what ever the book says, no matter what. Okay? I’ll do everything in my power to protect you. I promise.”

His strength filled Channie’s heart with courage. She dried her eyes on his robe and said, “I love you, Joshua Abrim.”

The book began to glow. And smoke. Except this time, the smoke was pale yellow instead of black, and smelled like Josh instead of tar.

Channie lifted her chin and gazed into his eyes.

He stared back at her with such intensity, she felt as if he could see her very soul. “And I love you, Enchantment Belks.” Not Channie, not Chastity, but Enchantment.

The book released a burst of silvery green smoke that smelled of lavender and sage. Enchantment’s smokey essence mingled with Josh’s and cocooned them both within a tapestry of love and magic.

Their unique incense cleansed and purified the room as well as Channie’s eyes, nose, throat and lungs. A warm tingle of magic caressed her hand as it slid free from the book.

Flames danced across the blank page. An image appeared. It was a detailed drawing of a boy and girl that looked a lot like Channie and Josh. But this was no ordinary sketch, not even by magical standards.

Channie watched, mesmerized, as the drawing portrayed her most desperate wish.

The couple raced across the page towards each other. The boy wrapped his arms around the girl and picked her up off her feet. There was something desperate in their embrace, as if one of them had just returned from a long journey, or war. The boy lowered the girl to the ground and cupped her face in his hands.

Channie could almost feel the texture of Josh’s skin as the couple on the page leaned in and pressed their lips together in a passionate, but tender kiss. It wasn’t chaste, but it wasn’t lustful either. It was the perfect fairytale kiss of true love. The image faded and Channie wanted to cry. The flames appeared again but this time they scorched the page with a written message.

Tender hearts full of hope and courage

Heed the warnings, but be not discouraged.

A love pure and true is yours if you dare

To open your hearts and lay your souls bare.

For every choice there is a cost

And the things you lose are forever lost.

You have until the full moon sets

To bind your hearts with no regrets.

But first remove the crimson stain

Though it burns your flesh with unbearable pain.

With your touch, ignite the fire

And cleanse the one you most desire.

You have until the dawn doth break

To suffer for each other’s sake.

But if you leave a single spot,

Eternal pain will be your lot.

Then wait until the moon is new

Lest this tome be sealed to you.

You have one chance to learn the spell

And break the curse. Use it well.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Josh scowled and started to turn the page. Channie grabbed his bare wrist. Agony seared her palm. She jerked away from him and cried out in pain.

Josh swore, then immediately asked Channie if she were all right.

“I don’t know.” Channie didn’t remember closing her eyes or flinging her hand away from her body. But her eyelids were squeezed shut and her arm was out to the side and slightly behind her back. “My hand. It hurts so much.”
Please, please, please. Make it quit.