Taken (30 page)

Prudence paced in front of the picture window in the front room for hours, waiting for Money …
Monroe
… to come home with her book. The longer he was gone, the more distraught she became.
 

She felt the book’s absence like a bad tooth. The ache wouldn’t go away and she couldn’t think of anything else. Life was meaningless without the book. She remembered being a good wife and mother before she’d dug up the grave and pulled the Book of the Dead out of the desiccated corpse.
 

She remembered, but she didn’t care. She’d existed in a cocoon, safe and happy as a caterpillar, not knowing or caring that there was so much more. But once she’d opened the book, it had opened a whole new world to her. She’d seen beyond the confines of her pathetic cocoon and tasted real power. She wasn’t a caterpillar anymore. But without the Book of the Dead, she couldn’t break free from the chrysalis pinning her wings to her back, crushing her.

This was all Channie’s fault. If the stupid little slut hadn’t stolen the book in the first place, she’d be long gone by now, unfettered by family obligations and binding spells.
 

The book had given her the ability to change Channie’s power-name. If it could do that, it could release Prudence from her vow of obedience to Money. And once she was free from that burden, she’d let the book go. But she’d do it on her terms.
 

When she’d first learned of the curse she’d brought down upon herself and her line by taking the book, she’d been willing to let her daughters sacrifice her. She’d been willing to let them replace her beating heart with the book and let it rest for another hundred years inside her rotting corpse.
 

But that was before Prudence had felt the book’s power flowing through her veins, before she’d glimpsed her own potential, before Channie had stolen it and lost her own powers. She couldn’t ignore the omen. The Book of the Dead was telling her to let Channie take her place. But now the little tramp had run off again.
 

Abby would feel the full measure of her wrath for interfering as soon as she laid eyes on her. Channie couldn’t get far on her own, and if she thought that pathetic boy, Hunter Feenie, could protect her, she was sadly mistaken.

“What’s taking so long!” Prudence’s voice echoed in the empty house as a chill crept up her spine.
 

She’d been so anxious to have that offensive name removed that she hadn’t considered the possibility it was a trick. Why would a Veyjivik mage help them? He wanted the book for himself! What if the mage were Valor Veyjivik? As soon as the thought entered her mind she knew it was true. How could she be so stupid?

She slammed the side of her fist against the wall next to the window, making the glass tremble. Rage bubbled into her power-well. Even without the book in her possession, its residual power fueled her magic. She ground her teeth as the neighbor’s rat-sized dog trotted into
her
yard and squatted in
her
rose garden to empty its bowels.
 

Somewhere, deep inside Prudence, a twinge of guilt pricked her conscience as she considered cursing the mutt. The trips loved that stupid little dog, even after it’d nipped all three of them. At the time, she’d sided with the dog. But that was before it started defecating all over her rose garden.

Her rage settled into a cold fury as she released the curse. She thought about her neighbors, searching and calling for their useless pet, and smiled. They’d never guess that the scorched earth in the rose garden was all that was left of the horrid little beast.
 

~***~

Momma’s heart stopped when Money —
Monroe —
rolled around the corner and pulled into the driveway. Her joy was short-lived when she realized the book was still traveling away from her. So it had been a trick after all. The old fool had let that Veyjivik mage get the better of him. She threw open the door and scanned him for injuries as he slid out from behind the wheel. Not so much as a bruise on his sorry hide.
 

“Where’s my book?”
 

Monroe stretched his mouth into a grimace and scratched the whiskers under his chin. “Why don’t we go inside and talk about it.” He sniffed then arched his eyebrows. “Who you been cursing while I was gone?”

Prudence turned her back and walked into the house without answering.
 

Monroe followed her inside then shut the door. “I know you’re attached to that book—”

“Where is it!” She already knew he’d lost it, but what she didn’t understand is why he was still alive. He must have handed it over without a fight.
 

 
He pulled his linen handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his brow. “It’s with its rightful owner.”

Rage blinded Prudence. She blasted Monroe before he got a chance to raise his shield with a bolt of power that should have stopped his feeble heart. Stupid man. Surely he knew what she’d do to him the instant he revealed he’d lost her priceless book. Why hadn’t he shielded himself? He was writhing on the floor and screaming, but why wasn’t he clutching his chest? She pulled her energy back and slapped a combination no-speak-be-still spell on him before he could recover and scanned his heart.

It was normal. Better than normal. It was as strong as a mule’s. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “What did you do?”
 

He couldn’t answer while he was bound by her magic but she already knew. “You traded my book to a healer, didn’t you!”
 

She kept the be-still spell in place, but removed the no-speak.

Monroe gasped and sucked in three lungfuls of air before answering. “I didn’t trade the book. I gave it to him and he healed me without me askin’ for no favors.”

The sound of rushing blood behind her ears drowned out the rest of his excuses. She took two steps towards him, cast another no-speak to silence his screams, then kicked his ribs until she felt the bones give beneath her foot. She paused and lifted the no-speak spell again. “Where’s Channie?”

Monroe pressed his lips together and closed his eyes.
 

“Answer me.” She needed Channie’s heart, as well as the Book of the Dead, if she was going to escape the curse. She knelt beside him and leaned over to kiss his check. “Return my book, and I’ll let you live.”

Tears leaked out of the corners of Monroe’s eyes. He blinked then looked up at her and smiled through his pain. His energy field pulsed with love and remorse.

Prudence stood up and kicked him one final time … and felt their bond slip away.

Josh’s heart pounded as he kissed the tip of Channie’s nose. They were on the run and headed into who knew what sort of danger but it’d been two weeks since they’d had sex. He couldn’t wait to get Channie inside the hotel and rip her clothes off. No. None of that. He’d take it slow and make it last. Unless she wanted to take charge again. Damn. He needed to quit thinking about it if he wanted to get out of the car anytime soon. He put his hand on the key, but before he could shut off the engine, a flash of light seared his eyes. His shield burst out of his chest and slammed down over Channie.
 

She screamed, but the curse bounced off his shield. Scared, not hurt.

Josh jerked the car into gear. The tires squealed as he laid rubber on asphalt. He blinked against the blue spots floating in front of his eyes and swore as he gunned the accelerator.
 

Channie still had her seatbelt on, but she twisted around and looked over her shoulder. “It’s Momma.”

Josh threaded the gap between two semis as he shot back onto I-70 East. “How’d she find us?”

Channie’s voice shook. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think she’d torture your dad for information?”

“She’s willing to cut out my heart.”

“Good point.”

Another curse bounced off Josh’s shield. The magic didn’t hurt them, but the blast of light nearly blinded him. Traffic wasn’t heavy, but there were enough cars and trucks on the highway to make even a few seconds of driving with impaired vision dangerous. He slammed on the brakes then jerked the wheel to the right, dodging a Smart Car. The horn sounded like an angry gnat as he passed. Prudence’s black Lexus was riding his ass. Josh swore as she hurled another blinding curse.

Channie said, “Curse her back!”

“I have to drive.”

Channie took a deep breath then said, “Keep me shielded,” and unfastened her seatbelt.
 

“What are you doing?”
 

“Just drive!” She turned sideways and squeezed her body between the bucket seats.

The car swerved as Josh grabbed her arm with his right hand. “Get back here and buckle up.”

“I know what I’m doing!” Channie jerked free and climbed into the back.

“Well that makes one of us.” Josh glanced into the rearview mirror and saw her digging around in her backpack. “You wanna fill me in on your plan?”

She didn’t answer, but he recognized the
chunk-chunk
sound as she slammed the clip into her gun and cocked it.
 

Oh shit.
“Channie. You can’t shoot your own mother!”

“I’m not going to shoot
her
, just the car. Roll down the window.”

“Get back up here!”

“Roll it down, or I’ll shoot through it.”

Josh swore again then rolled down the window. He kept his gaze glued to the road in front of him and focused on driving as Channie emptied her clip into her mother’s car. A quick glance in the rearview mirror showed steam pouring out of the hood of the Lexus as it fell further behind.

Josh trembled with relief when Channie said, “She’s getting off the highway.” But the distant sound of a siren made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Someone must have called 911.
 

He took the next exit, a deserted rest stop with nothing but a couple of vending machines, a water fountain and a low-slung, concrete building with “out of order” signs swinging from both bathroom doors. Josh drove around to the back, cut the engine and turned off the lights.

Channie said, “Why are we stopping?”

“I can’t outrun the cops and if you try to shoot up a police cruiser, they’ll shoot back.”

“What if they find us?”

“I’ll cast a misdirection spell.”

“You don’t have time.”
 

The sirens grew louder. Pulsing blue lights flickered in the trees along the highway. Channie was right. For a misdirection spell to work, he needed to cast several of them in a wide perimeter to keep the car out of the cops line of sight. A misdirection spell wouldn’t make them invisible.

“Give me your gun, the extra clips and all your ammo. Better give me your holsters too.”

“Why?”

“Just do it! Now!”

Channie scowled, but handed everything to Josh.

He opened the door and tossed it all on the ground.
 

“What are you doing? We need that!”

“We can’t get caught with illegal weapons.” He pulled the knife Wisdom had given him for Christmas out from under the driver’s seat and threw it on the ground, next to Channie’s gun.
 

Before Channie could interfere, Josh closed his eyes and gathered his magic. It warmed his gut as it flowed out of his power-well. He opened his eyes and focused on the pile of contraband … then
wished
it into non-existence.
 

Channie gasped then said, “How’d you do that?”

“Same way I clean my clothes.” Josh hopped out of the car and lowered the back seats, enlarging the cargo area of the RAV-4.
 

Channie got out of the car and whispered, “What are you doing?”
 

Josh yanked his shirt off and tossed it into the front seat then unzipped his jeans and climbed into the back of the car. His heart stopped when two highway patrol cars pulled into the rest stop. Their lights flashed across the roof of the building housing the bathrooms. At least they’d parked in the front. “Come on.” He grabbed Channie’s hand and pulled her in with him. “Unbutton your blouse.”
 

“This is hardly the time or the place for such shenanigans!” She was still whispering, but the urgency in her voice revealed her level of panic.

“We need an alibi. Just … let me do the talking. Okay?”

Channie nodded.
 

Josh undid the top three buttons of her blouse then tousled her hair and said, “There. That should be good enough. Now lie down.” He slid down beside her and pulled one of her legs between his knees. “Kiss me and act like we’ve been at it for awhile.” To his surprise, she kissed him with as much heat as she ever had.
 

Intermittent blue light filled the car when a cruiser pulled around back. A sense of deja vu swept over Josh when the officer tapped on the rear window and shined his flashlight into their faces, but this time, there were two officers, and they’d drawn their guns.

Josh kept his mouth pressed against Channie’s and whispered, “Move slow and if they ask you anything, just say ‘I don’t know.’”

Channie nodded.
 

The cop tapped on the window again and said, “Lemme see your hands.”

Josh resisted the urge to hold his hands up in a “surrender” position and simply lifted them off Channie’s body.

The cop said, “I need you to exit the vehicle. Keep your hands where I can see ‘em.”

Josh sat up, then opened the door and said, “Is there a problem?”

The cop stepped back, but kept his gun leveled at Josh’s bare chest. “Turn around, put your hands on the hood of the vehicle and spread your legs.”
 

Josh needed to act like a surprised teenager and not a fugitive that was expecting to be arrested. He let his eyes go wide and mouth fall open then obeyed.