Finding Valor (9 page)

She barely heard the sound of the tracker’s boots scraping across the porch over the rush of blood behind her ears.
 

The door knob turned. Channie cocked the shotgun and fired.
 

The tracker yelled then rattled off a string of cuss words so nasty it burned her ears. She re-cocked the shotgun then opened what remained of the door, but her smile fled as soon as she recognized the man lying in a pool of blood.

She dropped the shotgun then fell to her knees and pressed her hands over the worst of his wounds. “Shepherd Feenie! What are you doing here?”

“Looking for Hunter.”

~***~

“He’s not here.” Channie took one of Shep’s hands and slipped it under hers. “Keep pressure on this while I go find a bandage.”

Momma had taken the medicine kit with them when they’d moved to Louisville, so Channie grabbed the cleanest kitchen towel she could find and pressed it against Shep’s leg. “What made you think Hunter was here?”
 

“I didn’t expect to find anyone here, but Ms. Wisdom said this would be a good place to start looking.” He grimaced as Channie pressed harder. His blood soaked through the towel within minutes. “I think I need a healer.”
 

Channie nodded. “I lost my powers, but I was able to heal a knife wound using my husband’s magic.”

Shep released control of his own magic, but Channie couldn’t use it. His power flowed through her and prodded her scarred power well, but steered clear of her heart-of-hearts as if it knew that no one’s energy but Josh’s would be welcome there. “It’s not working!”

“What can I do to help?” Shep’s voice shook.

“I’m afraid your superficial femoral vein might have been nicked by a piece of buckshot.”

“If it’s superficial, why’s there so much blood?”

“It’s only superficial when compared to the major femoral vein.”

“You sure it didn’t hit the major one?”

“If it had, you would have bled out already.” That was still a possibility. “I have an idea, but it’s going to hurt.”

“Do it.”

Channie lifted the bandage, ripped what remained of Shep’s trousers away from his body and plunged her finger in the wound.
 

Shep threw his head back and howled.

Channie yelled over his screams. “Follow the pain and seal the vein with raw power.”

“You want me to burn myself?”

“You have to cauterize it to stop the bleeding.”

“Can I cast a pain-away spell first?”

Channie shook her head. “You need to use the pain as a guide so you can pin-point the damage. It won’t do any good to stop the bleeding if you seal off the entire vein.”

Shep panted through clenched teeth then screamed.

Channie yanked her hand away from his leg involuntarily when his magic burned her finger.

The bleeding didn’t stop, but it slowed. Channie probed the wound with a different finger. “Do it again.”

Shep didn’t answer.

Channie patted his cheek with her other hand, but it didn’t do any good. She slapped him. “Wake up, Shep. We’re not done.”

His eyelids fluttered open.

It took two more tries before the bleeding stopped. Channie cleaned Shep’s wounds, and her burned fingers, with soap and water then taught him how cast a general disinfecting spell. It was sloppy work, but it was better than nothing. She bandaged his leg with a fresh towel then dragged him off the porch into the cabin.
 

She let him sleep for half an hour then jostled him awake. “I’m sorry, but we need to figure out what we’re going to do before Momma gets back.”

Shep propped himself up on his elbows. “Find me a forked branch to use as a crutch and let’s get the hell outta here.”

“I can’t leave. I swore a death pledge to Momma.”

Shep groaned. “Oh, Channie. What’d ya go and do that for?”

“I had to. It was the only way to save Josh.”

“That’s Valor, right?”

“How’d you know?” Josh’s true identity was supposed to be a secret.

“Ms. Wisdom told us all about him. We was getting mighty discouraged before she shared the prophecy from the Book of the Dead.”

“Oh, no!” Channie’s heart leapt into her throat. “Who all did she tell?”
 

“Everyone at Freedom Ridge.”

“Freedom Ridge?”

“That’s what we named our base camp. We got over two hundred people there and more refugees pouring in every day.”

“I thought the camp was supposed to be secret.”

“Ms. Wisdom and the other master mages designed a misdirection spell that keeps out anybody with even a trace of loyalty to Dominance the Destroyer.”

“The Destroyer?”

Shep’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. His energy field pulsed with grief and rage. “She’s killing off entire clans, even the children. We cain’t wait until winter solstice. We need to take the fight to her as soon as possible.”

“Josh isn’t ready to fight. He can’t even curse Hunter.”

“Have you two got something against the Feenie clan?”

“No. Why?”

“Valor’s trying to curse Hunter and according to Ms. Wisdom, I ain’t the first Feenie boy you shot.”

“It was an accident! I thought Hunter was a tracker.”

“You need learn to look before you shoot, Missy.”

“And you need to be more careful about who you sneak up on,
Buster
. I’ve been cursed, kidnapped, beaten and nearly raped. Momma’s already killed Abby and Daddy so excuse me if I’m a little trigger happy.”

“Abby and Money are dead?” Shep’s already pale complexion turned to chalk.
 

Channie swallowed hard to keep from bursting into tears. “Momma murdered them.”

Disbelief clouded Shep’s eyes. It was still hard for Channie to believe that Momma was capable of such evil, and she’d seen her kill Abby.

“Momma stole the Book of the Dead. She’s addicted to dark magic. She would have killed Josh if I hadn’t traded death pledges with her.”

“What’d you say in your death pledge?”

“I swore to do everything she commanded.”

“I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but why’d she go to all that trouble? Why didn’t she just kill you, too?”

 
“She’s planning to sacrifice me on summer solstice.”

“Why?”

Channie sighed and wiped her bloody hands on her pants. “She triggered a curse on herself when she retrieved the Book of the Dead and thinks she can get out of it by killing me.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. Damn.”
 

“I’m surprised Valor ain’t tried to rescue you.”

“I had Momma cast a remember-not spell on him so he wouldn’t follow us.” Channie couldn’t keep her tears at bay any longer. She turned her back, but that didn’t stop Shep from trying to comfort her.

He used the pine bench under the front window to pull himself to his feet then wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss. I know how you feel.”

“How can you possibly know how I feel?” Channie ducked out from under Shep’s embrace.
 

His chin dropped to his chest. He took a slow breath then lifted his head. Grief etched his handsome face, making him appear years older than nineteen. “You ain’t the only one that’s lost close kin.”

Fear squeezed Channie’s chest. She didn’t want to know, but she had to ask. “Who?”

“Ma and Pa, Farmer, Peacekeeper and both their wives are dead.”

“No.” Channie covered her mouth with both hands.

“Steward and Hunter are missing.”

Channie wiped her eyes on her shoulder then took Shep’s hands. “Hunter’s fine. He’s living and working in Las Vegas.”

“Hunter got a job?” Shep’s eyes widened. “Doing what?”

An inappropriate giggle escaped Channie’s throat, but laughing felt better than crying. “He calls it exotic dancing, but he’s a male stripper.”

“No way! Ain’t no woman gonna pay to see that kid’s scrawny ass.”

“Once he started getting regular meals, he filled out real nice.”
 

“You still got a thing for Hunter?”

“No! I’m in love with Josh.” As if to prove her point, a blast of golden light shot out of Channie’s chest. She pressed a hand over the glow and closed her eyes.
 

She’d felt their bond tugging at her heart sporadically ever since Momma had erased Josh’s memory, but more frequently in the past few days. A part of her wanted to believe it was because Josh was fighting the remember-not spell. She wanted to believe that he remembered her, but a bigger, more noble, part of her wanted him to stay safe, so she tried to sever the bond. It didn’t work. Josh was the only one with magic. He was the only one that had any control over their bond.

Shep kept one hand on the wall as he limped across the room. He leaned over and picked the shotgun up off the floor—then cocked it and pointed it at the floor in front of Channie’s feet. “What happens if someone kidnaps you? Does your death pledge allow for things beyond your control?”

“You can’t trick a curse. So, unless I actually believe you’re willing to shoot me, I’ll die the instant I step off the front porch.” Channie fisted her hands and held her breath.
Come on, Shep, convince me.

He sighed and lowered the gun.
 

Channie’s heart sank as she exhaled. “I can’t even give you a message for Aunt Wisdom without risking my life.”
 

She kept her gaze locked on Shep’s muddy boots. She was already tempting the curse to strike, hinting for him to ask Aunt Wisdom for help. She needed to change the subject. “Momma didn’t tell me not to talk about Hunter. Do you want to know more?”

Shep licked his lips and nodded.

“He goes by Hunter Brown and all his documents say he’s twenty-one. Oh! And he has a phone!” Shep wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but Hunter was. He’d find a way to get her out of—
No!
Don’t think about that! I’m just helping two brothers find each other. I’m not trying to get rescued. I know I’ll die if I leave. No one can help me.

Channie grabbed an ink pen out of her backpack and scribbled Hunter’s number on a scrap of paper. “Go to Whistler’s Gulch and call him.”

A dull “click” startled Channie. She looked up in time to see Shep remove the live round from the barrel and put it in his pocket.

“What are you doing?”

He grinned at her as he emptied the magazine and added those shells to his pocket. “I ain’t gonna risk getting shot at as I limp outta here.”

“I’m not going to shoot you!”

“How do I know your Momma didn’t order you to shoot any trespassers?” He plucked the scrap of paper with Hunter’s number out of her hand. “Do you have more shells somewhere? I don’t want to leave you defenseless neither.”

“I’ve got a couple boxes of ammo on the top shelf of the cupboard. Momma didn’t give me any orders to shoot anyone, but I don’t blame you for not trusting me.”

“I’d like to say it was nice seeing you again, but…” He nodded at his bandaged leg. “Thanks for telling me where Hunter is and for giving me his number. I appreciate it.”

“Are you headed to Las Vegas?”

Shep winked at her. “It’s best if you don’t know the answer.”

He was right about that.
 

Channie’s heart ached as she watched Shep make his way down the path. He turned around at the edge of the woods and gave her a nod then disappeared into the shadows. She hoped he’d be long gone before Momma came home. A feeling of dread settled over Channie as she nailed a quilt over the gaping hole in the front door. There was no telling what Momma’d do to her when she saw the damage.

~***~

Josh wasn’t surprised to find Kassie waiting for him after third period. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to his car. “I’ve already called in our order at Chili’s. We need to talk.”

Neither of them said anything on the way to the restaurant. Josh ran in and grabbed their order then returned to his car. “What’s up?”

Kassie cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. “Are you kidding me?”

“Well…other than all this magic crap.”

She punched his arm. “What happened this morning?”

“What have you heard?”

“Eric’s claiming that Hunter held him down while you tasered him. He’s already told Principal Whitcomb and he’s threatening to go to the police. No one else saw it, but there’re security cameras in the halls. What are you going to do?”

“I was standing ten feet away from Eric. I had my hands in front of my body. The only thing I was holding was a ball of energy…that won’t show up on video. It’s obvious I wasn’t holding a taser.”

“What about Hunter?”
 

“He was standing behind Eric, shielding him so I wouldn’t kill him. The curse shattered Hunter’s shield and knocked them both down. Eric turned towards Hunter right before I cursed him. I think it’ll look like Eric attacked him.”

“Do you think Hunter’ll lose his job?”

Josh shoved three onion rings in his mouth and used that as an excuse not to answer.
 

“He’s already gone, isn’t he?”

Josh nodded. “He said to tell you good-bye…and good luck with the baby.”
 

Josh expected Kassie to scream or cry or throw some sort of tantrum, but she just stared out the side window.
 

“Kassie? Are you okay?”

She sighed, but continued to stare out the window. “Not really.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Her shoulders slumped. “There’s nothing to say. He’s gone.”

“He’s coming back. As soon as he gets Channie, he’ll bring her home.”

“But then he’ll just leave again.” Tears leaked out of the corners of Kassie’s eyes. “I don’t know why I care. He’s not worth it.”

“Why don’t you just admit that you’re in love with him?”

“What good would that do?” She swiped the tears off her cheeks.

“He loves you, too.”

“Maybe. But he loves Channie more.”

~***~

As soon as Josh got back to school, he went to the administration office and asked to speak with Principal Whitcomb. He was ushered right in.

“So, Mr. Abrim, you have some explaining to do.”

“I heard Eric Rickmond was spreading some pretty vicious rumors about me and thought I better check it out.”