Finding Valor (44 page)

Prudence grabbed Josh’s wrist, just above his hand. Her grip was surprisingly strong for a dying woman. Her eyes shone with fervent joy. “My sacrifice will restore Channie’s powers.”
 

Prudence obviously interpreted the message the same way Josh did. He swallowed the bile rising into the back of his mouth and nodded.

“I’m ready.” Prudence smiled then let go of Josh’s wrist and exhaled a long, whimpering sigh.

He waited for her to inhale, one second…two…five…eight…
Crap
.
 

Josh pressed his fingers against her neck, searching for a pulse. He laid his ear against her chest. Nothing.

He tried CPR for five minutes without results. He still had his hands in position over her heart and wished she would have hung on just a little bit longer. He didn’t want to perform the grisly sacrifice, but he desperately wanted to restore Channie’s powers. And with that wish, her mother’s heart fluttered to life.
 

He knew he didn’t have much time so he thought of how much he loved Channie and how much magic meant to her. She’d sacrificed her powers to be with him. He thought about Savvy, Courage and Zeal. They’d already lost so much. He didn’t want them to lose their magic as well. He thought about his unborn children and found the courage he needed to pick up the knife.

The heart in his hand quivered as he shoved the book inside Prudence’s chest. He hoped that counted as a beat. He laid her heart on top of the book. It twitched two times then stilled.
 

All of Josh’s memories returned. There were no flashbacks. No sudden rush of magical energy. He simply
remembered
. Not all at once and not vividly. Some memories stood out more than others. Some were nothing more than vague impressions. It was as if his memory had never been erased. And even though he didn’t think it possible, his love for Channie grew even stronger.
 

His heart expanded, with both joy and grief. It filled his chest, squeezing the air out of his lungs. They’d been through so much together. How much more could they endure before this nightmare ended?

Channie moaned and turned her head towards Josh.
 

He didn’t want her to see her mother’s remains—or what he’d done. He crawled over Prudence and took Channie’s hand in his. She was even bloodier than he was. “Keep your eyes closed, babe. It’ll be all right.”

Channie had never obeyed even his simplest request, so Josh wasn’t surprised when her eyes flew open. She ducked her chin and stared, open-mouthed, at her chest. The bewildered expression on her face morphed into adoration as she lifted her bloody hands to Josh’s face. “You healed me.”

“Yes.”

“Where’s Momma?” Channie clutched the fabric of Josh’s shirt and tried to pull herself up.

“I’m sorry.” He lifted her onto his lap, angling his shoulders to keep Prudence’s body out of sight. “She’s gone.”

“She left?”

“No, babe. She’s dead.”

“Did you…kill her?”

“She tried to curse me.” He stopped himself from revealing that the shard of glass Channie stabbed her with had played any part in her mother’s death. Even if she never forgave him for killing her mother, it was better than letting her blame herself.

Tears streamed down Channie’s face. Josh closed his eyes as his throat tightened around a thickening lump of remorse.

“Josh. It’s all right. You didn’t have a choice.”

He kissed the top of her head. “No. I didn’t. But I did something else, something horrible. Something I didn’t have to do.”

“The sacrifice?”

Josh nodded.

“Why?”

He’d hoped that the sacrifice would restore Channie’s magic, but that hope had obviously been in vain. He shrugged his shoulders and looked away. He didn’t want her to feel the least bit responsible for his decision to mutilate her mother. “She told me that if I refused, everyone in her line would lose the ability to use magic. I didn’t want to do it, but it was her last request.”

Channie cupped his cheeks in her bloody palms and forced his gaze back to hers. “I know it must have been horrible for you and I’m sorry you had to be the one to do it, but if you hadn’t; the trips would’ve lost their powers. None of our children would be able to use magic. You did the right thing.”

Josh looked at his blood-stained hands and wondered if he’d ever feel clean again. “It doesn’t feel like it.”

Channie squirmed in his lap.

Josh held her in place. “Please don’t look. I don’t want your last memory of your mother to be—”

“Right now, the last memory of my mother is the sight of her leaning over me as she cracked my ribs apart with her bare hands.” Channie’s voice quivered. “She didn’t even bother to cast a be-calm spell, much less a pain-away. She
enjoyed
watching me suffer. She killed Daddy, Abby and Diego. And who knows who else she’s murdered. If you hadn’t come back when you did, she would have killed me, too.”

Josh suspected that Prudence had killed Wisdom in order to escape, but he couldn’t bear to add that burden to Channie’s grief.

 
“I should hate her…but I don’t. What’s wrong with me?”

“She was sick, Channie. Even if we can’t forgive the things she’s done, we can forgive her. In fact, she helped heal you…at the end. I didn’t have enough power to finish the job. She gave me hers.”

“I want to see her.”

“At least let me cover her up first.”

Channie nodded. She kept her eyes on the floor as she crawled off Josh’s lap.

He grabbed a blanket out of the basket next to the couch and spread it over Prudence’s body, leaving her face uncovered. In spite of her burned and blood-splattered face, she looked amazingly peaceful.
 

Josh returned to Channie and took her hands. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to. Will you help me?”

Josh slid his hands under Channie’s arms and lifted her to her feet. He kept one arm wrapped securely around her waist and waited.

Channie leaned into his side, took three deep breaths then turned and lifted her head. A broken sob erupted out of her throat. “I forgive you, Momma.”

A flash of golden light burst out of Prudence’s chest. It raced towards Josh and Channie, then flowed over them like a raging river; cleansing and purifying them, as well as everything else in its path—the floor, the walls, the kitchen cabinets, the blood-streaked refrigerator and even the spattered ceiling.
 

Channie clung to Josh as the river of light formed a whirlpool of energy over her mother’s body.
 

He guided her head to his shoulder and covered her eyes as the swirling light consumed Prudence. It didn’t leave behind so much as a particle of ash. It did however, leave behind a new book, bound in pure, white leather. Flames danced across the cover, embossing the surface with gold letters.
Valor Veyjivik, King of Mages.

~***~

Josh’s heart sank as he stared at the book. He’d accepted the duties and responsibilities of “crown prince” but he’d never really accepted the title as a part of his identity. He still didn’t feel like a prince, much less a king, but he could no longer deny it. He held Channie in his arms and drew comfort from the warmth and weight of her body pressed against his. But kept his gaze locked on the glowing book.

He didn’t detect any malicious energy, but he didn’t trust it. The glow intensified and gathered into a single pulsating beam of power.
 

Josh released Channie from his embrace then slid her behind his back.
 

The beam of power shot forward and poured into his sapphire. The gem had burned him when he healed Channie, so the skin beneath it was still tender. He grabbed the stone and yanked it away from his chest. It warmed his hand as it soaked up the book’s magic, but didn’t burn him.
 

Tendrils of light floated out from the sapphire and drifted over his head. Josh kept his gaze focused on the magical energy as he turned around. His first instinct was to protect Channie with his shield when it floated towards her, but
something
warned him not to interfere.

She inhaled with an audible gasp as wispy filaments of light shot into her chest and stomach. She pressed one hand over her heart and the other over her navel as tears streamed down her face.
 

“Channie!” Josh gathered her into his arms. His skin tingled as foreign energy swarmed over them. He covered them both with his shield, but the buzz of power only intensified. The magic was close, but he couldn’t tell what direction it was coming from.
 

A sudden, overwhelming blast of lust obliterated every other emotion. He found himself in bed, on top of his wide-eyed wife before he realized what was going on.

“Did you…was that…
your
magic
?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The return of magic caught me by surprise. I’m like a little kid, manifesting what I want without meaning to.”

“And
this
is what you want?” Josh’s mind was fogged with lust from her spell. It took every bit of self-control he possessed to keep from ripping the rest of her clothes off. But he needed to be sure he was reading the right signals. He couldn’t believe that Channie wanted sex so soon after her mother’s death.

“I need to be as close to you as possible.”

Josh tapped into his own magic as he gently lowered himself on top of Channie. She didn’t want sex because she was horny. She needed the comfort of intimacy.
Let me give her exactly what she needs.

~***~

Josh’s phone buzzed, waking him up. He snuck out of bed and crept into the bathroom to answer it, not wanting to disturb Channie. “Hey, Dad, what’s up?”

“Channie’s aunt just called. Prudence escaped and she’s afraid that you and Channie are in grave danger. I know you don’t want to involve the police, but—”

“No!” Josh took a quick breath and tried to calm down. If he panicked, he’d never convince Dad to keep the cops out of it. “We’re fine. Prudence showed up and tried to kill Channie, but…she’s dead.”

“Oh, Josh.” Dad’s voice cracked. “What happened?”

“It was self-defense. But the law might not see it that way.”

“Were either of you hurt?”

“Channie was, but she’s okay now. I healed her.”

“I’m on my way.”
 

“You don’t have to come all the way out here. We’re fine, really.”

Josh lowered the lid on the toilet and sat down. Tears of relief filled his eyes. He was still furious with Wisdom for running off with Prudence, but he was so very glad she was still alive.
 

“What about the body?”

“It’s gone.”

“What did you do with it?”

“It’s a long story.” Josh’s heart sank when he realized that he still had to deal with the two guards at the gate. They were empties, not a part of the mage world. He couldn’t just magically obliterate them. It wouldn’t be fair to them or their families. And it would raise too many unanswerable questions. “It would be better if you didn’t come right now. Channie’s pretty upset, as you can imagine.”

Vince's number flashed across the screen of Josh’s phone. “Hey, I’ve got Vince on call waiting. Do you want to hold?”

“I left a message on his voice mail after Wisdom called. I’m sure he’s going to have lots of questions. Call me back if you need anything.”

Vince listened without interruption as Josh told him the entire story from beginning to end.
 

“Hunter and I are in Cheyenne. We’ll be there in a few hours. Don’t worry about the guards at the gate. Or Prudence’s car. I’ll handle it.”

“Thanks.” Josh ended the call then turned on the shower. The new Book of the Dead had cleaned every inch of his body, even his fingernails, but he craved the familiar comfort of hot water and soap.
 

A draft of cold air warned him that someone had opened the bathroom door. He smiled when Channie stepped into the shower and wrapped her arms around his waist.
 

“I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. And I have some good news.”

“What?” She leaned back and gazed up at him.

“Vince is on his way here to lift the containment spells. You’ll be a free woman in a couple of hours.”

Channie’s face blanched. Her pupils dilated. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she panted. “You have to leave.”

She reached behind Josh and shut off the water. “Go on. Get out of here!”

“It’s okay, babe.” Josh pulled her against his chest. “Vince's one of the good guys. I told him to kidnap you.”

Channie jerked her body backwards as she shoved off Josh’s chest. “You what?”

He grabbed her elbows to keep her from falling. “It was the only thing we could come up with to get you out of your mother’s cabin without triggering the death pledge.”

Channie swallowed, hard, and blinked. “You let me believe you were in danger this whole time?”

“I’ve been protecting you!” Josh couldn’t believe she was pissed off about their ingenious plan.

“Is the containment spell even real?”

“Very.” Josh sighed and reached for her hand. “We had to make everything as real as possible to keep you safe.”

Channie let him weave his fingers through hers but she didn’t reciprocate when he squeezed her hand.
 

“Who else was a part of this? Besides you, Vengeance and Hunter?”

“Everyone that cares about you.” He tugged her closer. “Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not.” Channie trembled as she wrapped her arms around Josh and laid her head against his chest. “It’s just a lot to take in.”

“Come on. Let’s go get dressed and then scrounge up something to eat before Vince and Hunter get here.”

Channie clung to Josh’s hand as they made their way down the hall into the kitchen. Her entire body trembled.

“As soon as Vince lifts the containment spells, we’ll leave and never come back.”

“I want to stay here.”

“Here?” The new Book of the Dead had cleaned up everything, even the broken glass and cornbread. But Josh could still see the carnage in his mind. He could still smell the rusty tang of fresh blood. Still feel the viscous liquid dripping off his hands.