Taken (25 page)

“I miss you too. How long are you going to be gone?”

“I don’t know. I’ve already proven that I can do exactly what Daddy wants.”

“You’re good at poker?”

“Good enough. But mainly, I’m good at maintaining a poker face while letting my energy field broadcast my feelings.”

“Oh.”

“I just sort of got into it and forgot about the consequences.”

“It’s okay, babe.”

“No. It’s not. I knew it was cheating, but … I enjoyed it. It was such a rush when I won.”

“Do you think you’re getting addicted?”

“Not yet, but I can see how it happens. I won’t win anymore, at least not on purpose. Once Daddy figures out that I’m not reliable, hopefully he’ll give up on his plan to make me his permanent partner.”

Three quiet raps on the door and Daddy’s muffled voice startled Channie. “Hey, baby girl, you decent? I’m coming in.”

Channie gasped and said, “I gotta go. Daddy’s here.”

Josh said, “I love you, call me when you can.”

Channie hated to hang up without saying,
I love you, too.
But the click of the lock stopped her heart. She waited until Daddy opened the door and said, “Bye, Hunter. I hope to see you soon.”

Daddy frowned and said, “I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

“And I thought you’d be gambling.”

“I decided it was more important to get rested up for the tournament.”

~***~

Daddy woke Channie at seven o’clock and told her to get ready. He’d already shaved, showered and dressed.
 

“Wow, Daddy. Don’t you look nice.”

He grinned and slicked his hair back. “Thanks, baby girl. How long you think it’ll take you to get ready? I’m pretty near starved half to death.”

“Go on and get something to eat.” Channie’s stomach was already churning. Daddy was going to be furious once they bombed out of the tournament. “I’m so nervous I can barely swallow.”

Daddy frowned and puckered his lips. “That ain’t good. You need to calm down before the tournament starts.”

“I’m trying.” Channie let her true feelings light up her energy field and etch worry lines across her brow.

Daddy swore, then sat down on the edge of her bed. “If I cast a be-calm spell on you it’ll make it harder to read your energy, but I’ll do it if you think you can’t settle down on your own.”

Channie licked her lips then took a deep breath and said, “I’ll take a hot bath. That should help. Bring me back a sandwich or something from the restaurant.”

“Alright. I’ll be back in an hour.”

“Be sure you knock loud enough for me to hear you before coming in.” The jetted bathtub was in the corner of the room, with breathtaking views of the mountains. But no privacy.

“You be sure you’re ready by eight.”

Channie had just gotten in the tub when the lock clicked. Daddy must have forgotten something. Channie grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. “Don’t come in! I’m naked.”

The foreign energy of three mages filled the room as the door swung open. They were all shielded and bristling with energy —
 
ready for battle. Two men in their mid to late twenties and a girl that couldn’t be more than fifteen years old strode into the room. One of the men closed and dead-bolted the door. Why hadn’t she done that? Damn.

The men ogled Channie and filled the room with lust. The girl curled her lip and rolled her eyes then pointed at Channie’s clothes laid out on the bed. “Get dressed.”

Loathing suppressed Channie’s fear and overcame her shock. “Who are you?”

The girl ignored Channie and turned toward the men. “Pull your drooling tongues back inside your mouths and wait in the hall.” Her accent was southern, but cultured.

The older of the two men said, “With all due respect, miss, we aren’t supposed to let you out of our sight.”
 

The girl blasted both men with a combination no-speak-stinging spell that had them writhing on the floor within seconds.
 

Channie cringed. Either this girl was older than she looked or she was going to be an incredibly powerful mage when she reached adulthood.
 

The girl arched an eyebrow at Channie. “I see you know what I am.”

Crap. She should have pretended to be surprised.
 

The girl kicked the man closest to her in the back and said, “Do as you’re told. This Empty is no threat to me.”
 

Channie thought of the gun she’d hidden on the top shelf of her closet back home with longing. Without it or magic, she was no threat to anyone, but she wasn’t going down without a fight. She also wasn’t going to fight naked, so as soon as the men crawled into the hall, she said, “Do you mind if put on something else? That dress is for a special occasion.” It was also tightly fitted and would make fighting or running difficult if not impossible.

“Whatever. Just get dressed.”

The girl waited for Channie to finish zipping her jeans then opened the door. The two men slid back inside, running their gazes over Channie as if she were still naked.
Scumbag trackers.

The girl folded her arms across her chest and said, “Where’s Money Kerns?”

“You have the wrong room. There’s no one here by that name.”

“Fine. We’ll wait.” The girl perched on the edge of the chair by the fireplace, back straight, chin up, then ruined the illusion of superiority by playing with a lock of her hair. She twisted it into rope and wrapped it around her forefinger, then let go and did it again … over and over.
 

Channie said, “Who are you and why are you here?”

The girl blinked then arched her eyebrows. “Did you see what I did to my companions?”

“If you wanted to hurt me, you would have already done so.”

The girl rolled her eyes then looked at her phone. She tapped at it with her thumbs, texting someone, then looked up and said, “Money’s wife is a powerful mage. Who are you? His mistress?”

Channie stifled a shudder and put on her best poker face, muffling her emotions. “Who’s Money?”

Daddy knocked on the door. “You decent baby girl?”

The young mage smiled. “So, you’re a daughter. A daughter with no magic. How sad.” She curled her lip again and whispered, “I guess the rumors of how powerful your mother’s clan is are just that … rumors. Unless you’re a bastard child from some fling with an Empty.”

“Daddy, Run!”

The girl hit Channie with a no-speak spell just as Daddy burst into the room with his shield already in place. He knocked out both trackers —
 
one with a curse, the other with an uppercut to the jaw — but didn’t do anything to the girl except stare at her with his eyes bugging out of his head.
 

She extended her hand and said, “Mr. Kerns, my name is Ambition Veyjivik. You may call me Ambi. I’m here to broker a peace agreement between our clans.”

~***~

Ambi’s idea of a peace treaty was nothing more than a demand for unconditional surrender. “It’s time to end this senseless slaughter of mages. Our numbers were dwindling before this insurgence began. It’s time to put aside our differences. Queen Dominance has authorized me to grant you a full pardon for crimes against the crown, including the death of the heir apparent, Prince Charisma, but only if you stop these vicious attacks.”

“I knowed that jockey was the Queen’s grandson, but I had no idea he was the crown Prince.”

“I would not miss this opportunity for redemption if I were you. You won’t receive another.”

Prince Charisma was not the last male descendent, but Channie wasn’t about to reveal Josh’s secret to this little tyrant. He didn’t want the crown, and she didn’t want him mixed up in this royal mess.

Daddy said, “What about you? As a Veyjivik, I assume you have at least a chance of inheriting the crown.”

Ambi placed her palm over her heart and narrowed her eyes. “My only desire is to serve the queen.”

Yeah, right.
Channie pressed her lips together and kept her thoughts to herself.

Daddy obviously had no qualms about voicing his doubt. “With Ambition as a power-name, that’s highly unlikely.”

Ambi squared her shoulders and glowered at Daddy. “A new day of power is dawning for all
loyal
mages. Renounce your sins. Join us and take your place among the chosen to rule and rein over the Empties. End this rebellion — or be destroyed.”
 

The color drained from Daddy’s face. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and upper lip. “What makes you think I got any influence with these rebels?”

“Your sister-in-law is their leader.”

“That crazy bitch ain’t never listened to no man; she sure as hell ain’t gonna listen to me.”

“You have one month to convince her to surrender.” Ambi snapped her fingers then extended an open palm towards the tracker on her right without so much as glancing at him. He pulled a parchment scroll out of the leather satchel slung across his shoulder and handed it to her.

She gave it to Daddy and said, “Everyone that signs this treaty before the deadline will be granted amnesty. Any rebel that refuses will be punished, then publicly executed. Queen Dominance has vowed to purge the world of all false mages, killing every man, woman and child of any clan that produces so much as one traitor.

“How do I know this ain’t a trick? Maybe Queen Dominance just wants me to lead your trackers to Wisdom’s secret camp so’s she can kill us all.”

Ambi said, “Consider this an act of faith.” She curved the corners of her mouth into a vicious smile then blasted both trackers. Their bodies arched like drawn bows as their heads jerked back. Their mouths opened wide in silent screams as their eyes rolled up showing nothing but bulging white orbs in bloody sockets.

Channie closed her eyes, and held her breath but couldn’t keep the memory of Harvey’s death from invading her mind. She smelled his burning flesh, heard his screams and saw his charred, smoking body sitting next to her in his locked car. She gasped for breath and gagged on the very real stench of the trackers’ remains.
 

Ambi sighed and said, “I’ll expect your answer in one month.”

Channie opened her eyes and dashed into the bathroom, throwing up in the sink. She hadn’t had time to shut the door so she could still hear Ambi’s final instructions.

“Clean this mess up. I don’t want any complications with Empty law enforcement.”

Josh had just stepped inside his room and closed the door when his phone buzzed inside his pocket. He’d put it on vibrate while watching a movie with Dad and Liz just in case Channie called him back. Josh’s heart raced when he recognized Hunter’s number.

“Is it okay to call Channie at the hotel?”

“Channie and her daddy just burst through the front door about ten minutes ago and told everyone to grab their emergency kits and get in the car.”

“Why?”

“They didn’t say, but I’m guessing trackers.”

“Oh, god.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I know something. Or as soon as I can. Channie’s folks’ll probably make everyone throw away their phones again. Dang it! I just bought this one.”

“Can you stall until I can get there?”

“If it’s trackers, stalling is the last thing you want us to do. I’ll protect Channie with my life.”

“Where’re they going?”

“No idea. I’m not even sure they know. I gotta go.”

“Wait!” Josh tried to call Hunter back, but it went straight to voice mail.

~***~

Josh grabbed a duffle bag out of his closet, a few changes of clothes, his shaving kit and a grainy photo of Channie then shoved everything inside the bag. He stuffed his phone and his wallet in his pockets, bolted down the stairs — and ran smack into Dad on the second floor landing.

He grabbed Josh by the shoulders and said, “What’s going on?”

“I have to go.”

“Where do you have to go? What’s wrong?”

Josh tightened his grip on the handle of his duffle bag to keep from yanking Dad’s hands off his body. “It’s Channie.”

Dad took a deep breath and said, “You’ve been seeing her all this time, haven’t you.”

“Did you really expect me to give her up?”

“I didn’t expect you to lie to me.”

Josh couldn’t push past Dad without knocking him down the stairs. “You didn’t give me a choice.”

“Talk to me, son. Let me help.”

“There’s nothing you can do.” Josh grabbed Dad’s elbow to steady him and tried to slip around him. It didn’t work.

Dad’s fingers dug into Josh’s shoulders. “If you leave again, you won’t graduate with your class.”

“Then I’ll get a GED. Let me go!” Josh’s stomach twisted into a knot. Every minute he stood here arguing with Dad was lessening his chances of finding Channie.”

“Is she in danger?”

Josh groaned. The last thing he needed was to get the police involved. They’d insist on questioning him. “No. But she’s being forced to leave against her will.”

“We’ve talked about this before. Unless she’s being abused, she has to yield to her parents’ authority.”

“Dad. Please, get out of my way. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Dad’s energy field pulsed with crimson light. He wasn’t going to make this easy.
 

Josh put his hand on Dad’s shoulder, pulled a fist-full of magic out of his power-well and let it flow into Dad. “I’m eighteen and a legal adult. You’re a lawyer. You know you can’t stop me. There’s no reason to turn this into an ugly confrontation.”

Dad sighed and leaned against the wall. His whole body slumped as Valor’s magic poured into him. “How are you doing for cash?”

Josh paid for everything with a credit card and on the few occasions he needed cash, he used his debit card and an ATM. You didn’t need to be a tracker to follow a paper trail. Especially not one as obvious as his. Maybe that’s how they’d found Channie’s family. Rider knew Josh’s first name and Veyjivik. Had anyone mentioned Abrim in front of him. He didn’t think so, but he wasn’t a hundred percent sure.
 

Okay, no more credit cards and no more ATMs … he’d need a new cell phone too. He still had about four hundred dollars left after their Valentine Extravaganza. Thank god Channie hadn’t let him order that bottle of vintage Dom Pérignon with dinner. If he hit the ATM one last time, on the way out of town, that would give him a total of about seven hundred dollars. He’d grab a couple boxes of power bars out of the pantry and a case of Liz’s Slim Fast so he could get by for about a week without having to buy food. If he only used his money for gas, he could follow Channie’s family across the country if he had to. He closed his eyes and focused on the tugging sensation in his heart. West, they were going west.