Finding Valor (16 page)

A gold thread, thinner than a single strand from a spider’s web, drifted towards her. It hung in the air for a second then slipped inside her heart. Channie’s body responded before her mind recognized the filament of pure love.
Josh!

Warmth spread through her veins. The bands around her chest broke free. She gulped in huge lungfuls of air then wept with relief as their heart-bond throbbed.
 

The memory of their curse-breaking kiss played across her mind. It was a memory she pulled strength from often but this time she saw it differently. It was from Josh’s perspective. She pressed her palms against her heart, as if she could hold onto the feeling. “You remember.”

~***~

Aunt Mary was watching TV in the living room when Josh arrived so he followed Kassie back to her bedroom. He swallowed around a sudden lump in his throat when he saw the baby basket next to her bed. “So, you’re all ready for the baby, huh?”

“Are you kidding me? I’m eighteen. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” Kassie exhaled, blowing her bangs off her forehead. She placed her palms in the middle of her lower back and stretched, sticking her already protruding stomach out even further. “What’s up? You sounded a little weird on the phone.”

Josh moved a stack of baby clothes from the rocking chair to the top of Kassie’s dresser and sat down. He placed his elbows on his knees then rested his chin in his palms. “Channie’s pregnant.”

“What!” Kassie’s eyes bugged out. “But…you said you didn’t have to get married. You don’t even remember getting married. Wait. Did you get your memory back?”

“I wish. According to Mom, I told Dad and he told her.” Josh’s gaze drifted to a mobile of butterflies hanging over the crib. He leaned over and gave it a gentle tap, sending the entire thing spinning. That’s what he felt like. A damn butterfly hanging by a string, at the mercy of forces he couldn’t control. “God, Kassie. What am I going to do?”

“You’re going to do what you always do…make the best out of a hard situation.”

“I’m just now starting to get used to the idea that I’m married. I’m not ready for a baby.”

“Tell me about it.” She grabbed a teddy bear off her bed and clutched it to her chest as she sat on the edge of the mattress.

“All I want to do is get in my car and start driving.”

Kassie threw the bear at Josh. “You can’t run away from this. Channie needs you. Now more than ever.”

“I don’t want to run away from Channie.” Josh rubbed the bear’s ear then tossed it back to Kassie. “I want to go find her.”

“Hunter thinks the best way for you to help her is to follow the instructions in that old book.”

“I know what Hunter thinks, but is that really the right thing to do?” Josh shoved his fingers in his hair. The old rocking chair groaned as he leaned back. “I want to do what’s best for Channie. I just wish I knew what that was.”

Kassie stood up and pulled a notebook out of her desk. “Then let’s see if we can figure it out.”

They studied the cryptic poems for hours, but didn’t come up with any new insights. Every instruction had an equally compelling counter-message.

Josh pulled his phone out to check the time and gazed at Channie’s picture. “I don’t want to let her down. I
can’t
let her down.”

“You won’t.”

“You sure have a lot of faith in me.”

Kassie shrugged. “You’re more of a brother than a cousin. I know you better than you know yourself. You can do this, Josh. All of it. You’ll figure out the right course of action. You’ll find Channie. You’ll save her from her crazy family and the two of you will make great parents.”

“Thanks.” Josh rubbed his eyes with his fingertips and blinked. If Kassie caught him tearing up, it might tarnish his knight-in-shining-armor reputation. “I needed to hear that.”

~***~

Josh made it to Heritage Park with five minutes to spare, but Vince was already there, sitting at the picnic table under the pavilion. Josh dismounted and leaned his bike against the chain link fence by the baseball field.
 

Vince stood up. “Hello, son.”

Josh rubbed the back of his neck. “Please, don’t call me that.”

“Sorry. This is all rather new to me. I was more than a little shocked to find out that I’d fathered a child.”

 
Josh muttered, “Me too,” under his breath.

Vince cocked his head to the side. “What’s got your emotions in so much turmoil?”

He’d forgotten that Vince could see his energy field.

“You’re more upset now than when we first met.”

Josh felt an overwhelming urge to unburden himself to this stranger. The words from the Book of the Dead sprang into his mind…
Go to the place where it all began
And seek the help of a broken man.
All that was lost shall be reborn
When you face with courage, your duty sworn.

“This is the place where it all began.”

Gold light burst out of his chest, but this time it felt good as the flashback washed over him…

An angel appears on the path into the park. Moonlight sparkles in her waist-length hair. It floats behind her like a pale cloud. She walks closer.

His mouth goes dry.
 

Eric makes fun of her charming, back-woods accent. The need to defend her overcomes Josh’s natural shyness around girls.

Eric storms off, complaining about getting zapped.

An overwhelming urge to kiss the girl obscures every rational thought. He takes her in his arms and crashes his lips to hers.

She freezes. But only for a second.

He traces the seam between her lips with his tongue as he presses her body into his.
 

She gasps, opening her mouth.
 

A jolt of pain blasts through him. He jerks away from her.
 

Tears stream down her cheeks.
 

Eric claimed something had shocked him before he stomped off to his car. Was it the girl? Had she used a taser on him? He wouldn’t blame her if she had. He didn’t even ask her name before he pounced on her.

“Valor?” Vince shook Josh’s shoulder. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I think…I’m supposed to trust you.”

Vince's mouth contorted into what Josh now recognized as a smile. He waved a hand towards the picnic table. “Come. Have a seat and tell me everything.”
 

“I should probably start at the beginning, but I have to tell you something first.”
 

Vince sat on the bench, but Josh took his usual spot, on top of the picnic table. He was still freaked out. They were too young. Channie was in danger. The timing couldn’t be worse. But he couldn’t keep from smiling. “You’re going to be a grandfather.”

Vince pressed his hand against his chest. “Seriously?”

Josh nodded. “I just found out.”

“Will you let me meet her?”

“I wish it were that simple.” Josh exhaled, expelling all the joy he’d been feeling along with his breath. “She’s been kidnapped.”

“You better start at the beginning.”

Vince sat and listened without a word as Josh told him all he knew. He showed him the pictures on his phone of the different spells from the Book of the Dead. But when he showed him his wedding photo, his throat closed up, making it hard to speak.

Vince lifted his hand and settled it on Josh’s shoulder. “I can cast a spell to ease your pain. It’s temporary, but it will help.”

Josh blinked then nodded.

Blue light poured out of Vince's chest. It settled over Josh like a warm blanket, calming his fears, dissolving the worst of his pain. But a dull ache still throbbed in the center of his chest.

Wave after wave of pure compassion poured out of Vince as Josh repeated the story of Channie’s abduction.

“I’m so sorry.” A tear leaked out of the corner of Vince's eye. It traced a crooked path between the scars on his cheeks then splashed onto his black shirt. “There’s nothing more painful than learning that the person who gave you life wants to kill you.”

“I’m sorry, too. About your mother.”

Vince nodded. “My mother’s curse scarred me for life, but it’s the scars you can’t see that still burn.”

“With Vengeance as a power-name, I’m surprised you haven’t already killed her.”

“A power-name is like a narcotic. The more you use it, the harder it is to resist. I fight against mine every minute of every day. I refuse to let mine control me. Instead, I focus on my desire to free our people. Although, I admit, it’s a little harder to differentiate noble intentions from vengeance when the only way to free our people and rid the world of Mother’s tyranny is to kill her.”

“And you’re okay with that? Killing your own mother?”

“She’s never been a mother to me. But no, I’m not okay with killing her. I want to, more than anything, but that’s exactly why I can’t. Someone else will have to do it.”

A chill shivered up Josh’s spine. “According to the Book of the Dead, that someone is me.”

Vince shook his head. “You don’t need to fight. I only want you to lead. Reveal yourself to the clans. That’s enough. Once our people realize there is a legitimate heir to the throne, they’ll take care of the impostor.”

“Wasn’t the king her father?”
 

“She lost the right to rule the night she murdered him.”

“But the book said for me to ‘grasp the hilt and join the fight.’ I’m supposed to battle it out with Dominance during the total eclipse of the moon.”

“The book also said, ‘heed not the call, nor summon to war.’ And it clearly states that you must claim your place among your kin.
Our
kin.”

“I’m not even a full-blood mage. I’m half Empty.”

“That will be a problem for some, but you were born during a partial eclipse of the moon on solstice night. That’s more than enough to make up for your lack of magical purity.”

“I’m not doing anything until I know Channie’s safe.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to.”

“Will you help me find her?”

Instead of answering, Vince stood up and offered Josh his hand. “We need to think of something to tell your mother.”

Josh’s heart sank as he remembered Elijah’s face, begging him to stay. He took Vince's hand, careful not to squeeze it, as he hopped off the table. “I need to go see my dad at the hospital before we leave.”

“What’s wrong with Ezra?”

“Nothing. It’s his wife, Liz. Someone attacked her.”

“She was attacked?”

“Right now, they’re calling it a random act of violence. She’s in the burn unit at some hospital in Aurora.”

“What kind of burns?”

“They think someone threw acid on her.”

Vince's eyes widened, stretching the scars on the sides of his face. He tightened his grip on Josh’s hand and tugged. “We need to get out of here.”

“Wait.” Josh tugged his hand free. “What’s wrong?”

“That was no random act and it wasn’t acid that burned your stepmother. It was magic.”

“Magic? Why would you say that?”

“Look at me. I know what a sustained attack of pure energy does to a person.”

Josh closed his eyes and saw Liz’s beautiful face reduced to a mass of scars. “Why would a mage attack Liz?”
 

“I think it’s a trap. They attacked your stepmother, hoping to draw you out.”

Mom, Dad…Elijah.
Josh’s stomach smacked the ground as guilt consumed him. This was his fault. “Is the rest of my family in danger?”

“Not yet. They’re obviously trying to be stealthy. They won’t risk another attack so soon and risk scaring you off. But we should warn your mother and your stepfather.”

“Ezra adopted me. He’s not my stepfather. He’s my father. Nothing is going to change that.”

Vince closed his eyes and sighed. “Go to your mother’s and tell her everything. You’ll probably have to give her a demonstration to convince her magic is real. Be sure you warn her not to tell anyone. Don’t tell your brother. He’s too young to be trusted with such a dangerous secret.”

Josh nodded. He wasn’t about to confess that Elijah already knew about magic. “Do you have a phone? I have no idea how long it’s going to take to convince Mom. And it’ll take me at least an hour just to drive to Aurora—”

“You aren’t going to Aurora. It’s too dangerous.”

“I have to warn Dad!”

“I’ll warn Ezra. I’m better prepared to fend off an attack. And you’re too valuable.”

“You really think someone’s trying to kill me?”

“I don’t know who is trying to find you, or what they want with you, but if they wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.”

“I’ll drop you off at your mother’s.”
 

“My bike won’t fit in your car.” The only vehicle in the lot was a Honda Civic.

Vince pointed at Josh’s bike. “That is not a safe mode of transportation.”
 

“I outran a horse on a bike just like that. It’s not that far to Mom’s condo.”

“Can you outrun a car?”

He had a point. “I don’t want to leave my bike unprotected.”

“Then hide it in the bushes and cast a protection spell around it.”

Josh was in too much of a hurry to get to Mom’s house. He stared at his bike and focused on the energy building inside his body.
I don’t want anyone to touch my bike but me.

A golden bolt of light flew out of his chest. The bike glowed for a second before it sucked the light into its titanium frame.

“Wh…what was that?” Vince's mouth hung open.

“A protection spell?”
Had he done it wrong?

“But…” Vince shook his head quickly as if he had water in his ears. “That’s not possible.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention, apparently my magic works on non-living matter.”

Vince's eyes lit up. “You can manipulate non-living matter?”

“It’s no big deal.” Josh shrugged. “I can clean my clothes with magic, too. But unless our clan has a lot of dry-cleaning, I doubt that’s going to impress anyone.”

Vince laughed out loud. Josh saw past the scars and smiled back at him.
 

“Actually it’s a very big deal.” Vince gripped Josh’s upper arms and squeezed. “You’re an elemental mage, Valor. The first in over three hundred years.”