Finding Valor (13 page)

Channie slid her fingers through his hair and rocked him like a baby. His tears slowed, but the frantic pace of his heart did not.
 

Even overwhelmed by grief, Hunter was not immune to her touch. How many times had he dreamed of this? How many times had he imagined her hands in his hair? Her arms holding his hard body next to her soft curves? Her heart pounding next to his? He’d imagined it all, and more, too many times to count. But this was wrong.

The white light pouring out of Channie’s heart proved that her love for Hunter was pure and chaste.
 

But his for her was not. He refused to defile her gift of compassion with impure thoughts or let the purple haze of his lust taint the glow of her sisterly love.
 

He unfisted his hands from the back of her shirt and gently pushed her away. “Josh is starting to remember you.”

Channie grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands. “Tell me!”

Hunter wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “I don’t want to put you in a bind if your momma starts asking questions.”

“You’re right.” Her shoulders slumped. She dropped her chin to her chest.

Hunter pried his gaze away from her body and studied his own hands, trembling in his lap.
 

Channie’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I can feel him sometimes, tugging on our bond.”

“He’s been getting flashbacks and every time he does, it activates the bond. He clutches his heart like he’s having a heart attack.”

“Is he okay?”

“Other than missing his soulmate, Josh’s just fine.”

“I miss him so much it hurts, but I don’t want him to come looking for me. I’m afraid Momma won’t honor her death pledge if he shows up.” Channie rose to her knees and grabbed Hunter’s shoulders. “You have to go back to Colorado and make sure Josh stays put.”
 

“He’s having flashbacks, but that don’t mean the remember-not spell is broken. Your momma’s magic is stronger than any of us ever suspected.”

Channie released Hunter. “The Book of the Dead gave her all sorts of dark powers, but she paid for it with her sanity.”

“When do you expect her to come back?” Hunter moved to the window and parted the curtains. He didn’t want to get caught.

“I don’t know. She’s looking for Aunt Wisdom.”

Hunter raised his eyebrows.

Channie shrugged. “She wants her help with the Book of the Dead.”

“If anyone can knock some sense into your momma, it’s Ms. Wisdom.”

Channie clasped her hands in front of her chin. Her energy field sparkled with pale, blue light. “Do you think Momma can be cured?”

Hunter wanted to kick himself for planting that irrational spark of hope. “I doubt it. But even if she were healed, do you think she’d be able to live with herself, knowing she murdered her own husband and daughter?”

Channie’s entire body slumped as she sank back down on the mattress. “She’d be better off dead.”

~***~

Channie didn’t want Hunter to leave, but she could tell he was getting restless. The moon had already sunk behind the western ridge. “Is Shep going to be worried about you?”

Hunter turned around and stretched. “I need to take care of a few things, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Don’t do anything to put yourself in danger on my account.”

He quirked the side of his mouth up into a lopsided smirk. “Ain’t none of us gonna be safe until this war is over.”

“I know you can’t tell me anything about Josh, but if you get a chance to talk to him, tell him that I love him and that I’m counting on him to do the right thing.”

“Which is?”

“Study the words from the Book of the Dead. Practice magic. And stay the hell away from here.”

Hunter’s smirk shifted into a full grin. “He cursed Eric in the hall at Monarch yesterday.”

Channie’s eyes widened as she stood up. “He did?”

“Yeah. And apparently it wasn’t the first time.” Hunter chuckled. “According to Kassie, who heard it from Bee, Eric accused Josh of attacking him with a taser that day y’all got into it at school, but we both know what that means.”

Channie threw her arms around Hunter. “That’s fantastic!”

“I probably shouldn’t have shared it, but…I wanted you to know that things are looking up. I didn’t want to leave with you feeling so low.”

“Do you have your phone with you?” Channie’s heart ached, but it was from missing Josh, not activating the death pledge. “I want to send Josh a text.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Hunter frowned and shoved his hand in the front right pocket of his jeans…where he kept his phone. “Besides, text messages don’t work any better than phone calls without a signal.”

“I won’t tell him where I am or anything like that. And your phone will store the message until you get close enough to a tower to get a signal.”

Hunter pulled out his phone, but before handing it over, he snapped a photo of Channie.
 

Her eyes widened. “Delete that.”

“Josh’s been staring at y’all’s wedding picture ever since he woke up. He needs a new one. I’m getting tired of looking at it.”

Tears blurred Channie’s eyes as she tapped the onscreen letters
“I <3 U”
then hit send.

Hunter frowned. “I hope Josh figures out from the photo that you’re the one that sent the message. He already thinks I’m gay.”

“We’ve both seen your hands all over Kassie.” Channie shuddered as if the memory creeped her out. She expected Hunter to laugh so his sigh caught her off guard. “How are things between you two?”

He shrugged. “‘Bout the same.”

“Aunt Wisdom told me something a while back, after I’d had my heart broken. She said that someday I’d find a man willing to place my happiness above his own. A man willing to sacrifice everything for my benefit. A man willing to lay down his very life to protect me. I didn’t believe her at the time, but she was right.” Channie wrapped her fingers around Hunter’s bicep and gave him an encouraging squeeze. “Josh is the perfect man for me. I found my soulmate. So will you.”

He smiled and bumped her shoulder with his. “I don’t want no man.”

Channie laughed and shook her head. “You know what I meant.”

“Who was it that broke your heart? Someone from around here? Want me to give him a whooping?”

Channie’s face tingled as blood rushed to her cheeks. “Naw. I got over it. So will you.”

“I hope you’re right. I’m getting awful tired of being lonely and miserable.”

Channie huffed. “Falling in love doesn’t mean you’ll never be lonely again. I’ve never been so miserable in my life.”

“Would you change it? If I had the power to break your heart-bond and free you from loving Josh, would you let me?”

“I’d rather die.”

“That’s what I thought.” Hunter leaned over and kissed the top of Channie’s head.

She jumped, accidentally smacking his lip with the back of her head.
 

“Ouch!” Hunter pressed the back of his hand against his mouth then stared at the blood smear.

Channie knew Hunter wasn’t making a move on her. He was just being friendly. But kissing her head was something Josh used to do even before they could tolerate skin-to-skin contact. She didn’t want anyone’s lips on her head but his. “Sorry. You startled me.”

Sadness rolled off him in waves as he stared at her. “No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “You should probably get back to Shep.”

Hunter’s shoulders drooped as he nodded. “See ya around, Channie.”

Josh’s shield faded as his pulse returned to normal. Too bad he couldn’t just keep the thing on all night, but it required too much energy. He’d run out of magic before morning. He punched his pillow a couple of times. The faint scent of lavender tickled his nose. The pain in his chest spiked then settled into a dull ache.
Channie.
 

He buried his face in the pillow and drank in its scent sweet, floral scent.
This is her pillow.
“How can I miss her so much when I don’t even know her?”
 

He clutched her pillow to his chest and drifted off. He was still dreaming of Channie when his phone alarm went off the next morning.
 

After a quick shower and an even quicker breakfast, Josh took a tour of the back yard. He found footprints along the north side of the storage shed where the ground was still soft from the last snow storm, but he couldn’t tell whether they belonged to him or Dad or an intruder. The foreign energy was gone. Maybe he’d only imagined it.

He set all the alarms on the house then pulled his car out of the garage and mounted his bike on the rooftop rack. He threw his racing gear in the back seat and headed for Greeley.
 

Since he’d lost all his sponsors, Josh wasn’t wearing anything that might identify him. Lots of newbies showed up in baggy jeans and t-shirts. If no one recognized him, no one would give him any crap about ditching finals at Grands. He signed in as Valor Veyjivik, unsponsored amateur, and paid cash to race.

With his missing memories, Josh felt as if he’d just raced the previous weekend, but in reality, it had been more than four months. He couldn’t help but wonder if his more muscular body would be faster or slower. Strength was important, but so was quick reflexes and that was definitely a “use it or lose it” kind of skill.
 

Josh warmed up and took a few practice runs, gaining confidence with every lap. But when it was time for his first moto, his pulse sped up. His heart pounded in his chest as he pushed his bike up the ramp to the gates.
 

“Okay riders, set ‘em up.”
 

Josh clicked his feet into the pedals and stood up. A familiar sensation of tightness spread from the back of his wrists to his forearms as he rotated his hands forward on the grips.

“On the gate.”
 

He shifted his weight back, over the rear tire.
 

“Riders ready.”
 

His entire body tensed, coiled like a spring. A twinge of apprehension crept up Josh’s spine. But it had nothing to do with pre-race jitters. Foreign energy prodded his body. His shield automatically popped into place.
Magic.

“
Watch the lights.”
 

Josh scanned the crowd as the random cadence began. He couldn’t tell who was transmitting the energy, but it was coming from the far end of the track, near the finish line.
Behind Mom and Elijah
.
What the hell were they doing there?
 

Josh’s tongue stuck to the roof of his suddenly parched mouth. Dad must have talked to her last night and told her about Josh’s plans to race today. Panic squeezed his chest as another tingle of power prodded his shield. Was it the same person that had been snooping around Dad’s house last night?
Are Mom and Elijah in danger?
He doubted it was a coincidence that the mage was hiding behind his family. But why? For protection? Was he using Mom and Elijah as a shield? Or did he hope to lure Josh into a trap?

The reason didn’t matter. Josh had to protect Mom and Elijah. The fastest way off the track was across the finish line. He exploded out of the gate when it hit the dirt with a metallic thud. Josh was the first one into the hole shot.

After that, it was all instinct. He was barely aware of the other racers, falling even further behind, as he flew over the jumps.
Faster. I need to go faster.
He accelerated out of the second turn and powered through the rhythm section. The crowd was on their feet as he rocketed across the finish line.

The announcer’s mic squawked. “It looks like we have a new track record. Valor Vey…jay…vick? Sorry for butchering your name, but congratulations, you’ve just broken the track’s record for best time, set just last year by ‘Josh the Jet’ Abrim…”

Josh tuned him out, dropped his bike and tried to shove past the growing crowd of people pawing at him as if his success could somehow transfer to them through touch. “Excuse me! I need to get through.”

Someone stage whispered, “Probably needs to avoid a drug test.”

“I don’t have time for this. Get out of my way!” Red energy rolled out of Josh, knocking people over like palm trees in a tsunami.
 

“Shit! I’m sorry.” Josh hadn’t meant to hurt anyone. A quick glance around didn’t reveal any life-threatening injuries, so he shifted his focus back to Mom and Elijah. And found them standing inside a bubble of shimmering, blue light…with a mage. Everyone else within a twenty foot perimeter was flat out on the ground. The stranger had protected Mom and Elijah. He was
still
protecting them. Who, or what, was he protecting them from?
 

Josh’s ears burned when he realized that
he
was the threat. He helped people to their feet as he waded through them, resisting the urge to apologize.
 

The mage stepped out from behind Mom, but he kept his chin down, hiding his face under a wide-brimmed, black hat. He was dressed all in black—jeans, long-sleeved shirt, boots and gloves. It had to be at least eighty degrees inside the arena. Why was he dressed for a blizzard? And why was he hiding his face?
 

The mage waited until Josh was only an arm’s distance away then lifted his chin.
 

Josh flinched when he saw the man’s disfigured face. It resembled a wax mask that had been left in a hot car too long. But it wasn’t the man’s scars that sent a chill down Josh’s back and raised the hair on his neck and arms. It was the intensity of his gaze and the color of his midnight-blue eyes. Eyes that looked just like his.
 

“Hello, son.”

Josh’s mind reeled. The ground seemed to tilt beneath his feet. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s no way to greet your long lost father.”

The man was a dangerous and powerful mage. Josh should be terrified, but all he felt was anger and a flood of emotional pain. Red light pulsed out of his stomach. “You, Vengeance Veyjivik, are not my father.”