Believe: The Complete Channie Series (116 page)

Josh strapped his new helmet on. “At least there’s no rush to get to Bowling Green. Promise me you’ll keep it under eighty miles an hour.”

“I’ll consider it…if you promise to quit hanging on so tight I cain’t breathe.”

A tingle of energy lifted the hair on the back of Josh’s neck. “Hunter? Please tell me that’s you.”

Hunter
jammed his helmet on and screamed for Josh to get on the bike. They burned rubber out of the parking lot.

Josh felt marginally better when two men jumped into an antique car. “It’s okay. No way is that old beater gonna keep up with us.”

“That old beater just happens to be a classic 1968 Chevy Impala.
”
Hunter’s voice came through the helmet speakers crisp, clear and full of anxiety.

“So?”

“You ever heard of a muscle car?”

“Oh…crap.”

“Hang on.”
Hunter leaned forward and goosed the throttle.

Josh knew enough about two-wheeled physics to know that he needed to mold his body to Hunter’s, especially around the curves. He also knew he needed to trust Hunter’s instincts, no matter how much his own screamed at him to take control.

A sudden rush of vertigo was his only warning. He locked his wrists around Hunter’s waist and held on tighter as the flashback washed over him.

Blinding flashes of light. Curse after curse slams into his shield. He darts in and out of traffic. Brakes squeal. Horns blare. Channie climbs into the back seat and unloads her gun into her mother’s car. Steam pours out of the hood of the Lexus as it falls further behind.

When the flashback ended, Josh glanced over his shoulder. The muscle car was riding their ass. A yellow, ‘sharp curves ahead’ warning sign with a snake-shaped arrow gave him hope. It didn’t matter how much power the trackers’ car had, two wheels were faster than four around hairpin curves.

The suggested speed was twenty-five miles per hour. Josh was pretty sure Hunter more than doubled it. A quick peek at the speedometer confirmed it.

Hunter hugged the right shoulder of the road then swerved into the left lane well over the solid double yellow lines. He leaned the bike so far to the left as he cut the corner, Josh was afraid his knee would scrape the pavement. Hunter straightened the bike, but immediately leaned it to the right.

Josh looked over his right shoulder as they came out of the second curve and grinned when the Impala fishtailed around the first turn. “Why aren’t they trying to curse us?”

“They’re trackers. Most of them don’t have much magical ability. It’s what makes ‘em so mean.”
Hunter straightened the bike as they shot out of the fourth curve. There was no sign of the Impala.

“Rider healed my broken arm. That takes a ton of power.” Josh still had a small lump on his head where it’d smacked the floor after he’d healed Liz.

“Rider’s not really a tracker. He’s more of a bounty hunter.”

“What’s the difference?”

“A tracker ain’t got no conscience. They’ll chase a man down just for the thrill of it. A bounty hunter does it for money.”

“Rider was toying with me.” The man had teased Josh with the promise of letting him go if he could beat him to the bottom of the mountain. Josh had accepted the challenge even though he was on a bicycle and Rider was on a horse.

“He wouldn’t have healed your arm if he didn’t want you to escape.”

“Maybe.” And Vince had claimed the man ‘held him in the highest regard.’

Josh’s heart sank when the Impala’s throaty growl echoed off the mountainside. “I think they’re gaining on us.”

Hunter swore and swerved around a dead armadillo.

Josh’s stomach lurched as the bike wobbled. Damn. That was close.

The impala skidded around the last curve then grew larger in the side mirror as it barreled down the straightaway.

“Come on, Hunter!”

“This would be a good opportunity for you to practice a killing curse.”

Josh’s mouth fell open as he watched a man lean his head and shoulders out of the passenger side window. “Shit! He’s got a gun!”

Hunter swerved from side to side without slowing down as the man fired on them. Bullets pinged off the pavement all around them.

Josh was tempted to raise his shield, but magical shields didn’t stop bullets. One hit the left side mirror, shattering it.

The next one could hit him, or Hunter. Cursing their pursuers was perfectly justified. It was self-defense—a matter of life and death—but Josh didn’t know if he had the balls to actually kill someone. He thought of how Channie had saved them from her evil mother by shooting up her car. He didn’t have a gun, but maybe he could do the same thing with magic.

Josh sat up straighter, putting just enough space between his chest and Hunter’s back to slip the sapphire pendant out of his shirt. He focused on the energy roiling behind his navel and pictured the Impala’s tires blowing out.

Four rapid bangs, like firecrackers, drew Josh’s attention. He watched in horror as the car swerved off the road in slow motion. It clipped a fifty-foot pine tree, sheering off the right front fender then tumbled down the mountainside. Josh knew that the sound of screeching metal, groaning wood, falling rocks and shattering glass would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Hunter didn’t even slow down. The car was still bouncing and rolling down the mountainside like a discarded toy when they roared around another curve, leaving it all behind—except the guilt.

Even though their pursuers had been shooting at them, Josh didn’t feel good about killing them. And there was no doubt in his mind that the trackers were dead. No one could have survived a crash like that.

“Slow down.”

No answer.

“Hunter?”

“We ain’t out of danger yet.”

No
one else followed them, but Hunter never slowed down. By the time they made it to the rendezvous point, Josh was emotionally, magically and physically drained. But the sight of Rider rolling into the parking lot in a wheelchair hitched to a miniature horse, brought a grin to his face. Josh had enough flashes of Rider to appreciate what being able to interact with a horse must mean for him.

Rider waited for Hunter to cut the engine then gently slapped the reins against the horse’s back. The tiny animal trotted up beside them.

Josh climbed off the bike and greeted Rider as if he remembered him with a single nod. “Hey.”

Hunter went straight to the little horse and squatted down to scratch under her chin.

Rider didn’t waste any time with pleasantries. He handed Josh a piece of paper then glared at the motorcycle. “I don’t want that thing scaring Lil’ Miss. Wait twenty minutes then go to that address.”

Josh opened the GPS app on his phone and typed in the coordinates. It took a while for the route to load but when it did, he heaved a sigh of relief. He was saddle sore and not looking forward to getting back on the bike, but they were only a couple miles from their destination—an abandoned warehouse in a railroad yard.

Four spotlights, from four different directions. shone down on them.

A woman’s voice called out. “Is that them?”

“Turn out the dang lights before you blind ‘em and open the door.”

The spotlights went out. The metallic clanging of an industrial door rolling open set Josh’s teeth on edge. A row of sputtering florescent lights provided the only illumination inside. The flickering lights gave the warehouse a bit of a rave feel. But the vibe coming off the hundred, or so, people assembled inside wasn’t the least bit festive.

“What do we do, now?”
Hunter kept his voice low, but Josh had no problem hearing him through the speaker in his helmet.

He answered just as quietly. “Cut the engine and put the key in your pocket then wait for an invitation to enter the building.”

“Going inside is the easy part. I’m more worried about getting out.”

“It’s going to be impossible to communicate privately without our helmets. We need a signal to alert each other if one of us spots trouble or needs help.”

“Three coughs and a sneeze?”

“Sounds good. Do your best to stay close so I can cover you with my shield if I need to.”

Hunter cut the engine and pocketed the key.
“Like a tick on a dog.”

Josh removed his helmet and discreetly turned off the intercom. His pulse throbbed in his neck.

Rider’s voice called out again. “Well, what’re you waiting for? Get on in here so we can close the door.”

Josh could feel the tension rolling off Hunter in waves. He put a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

“For you, maybe. But I double crossed a lot of people when I was spying for Ms. Wisdom, including Uncle Rider.”

Josh had forgotten that part of the story. Unfortunately, Rider hadn’t. With a flick of the reins, he forced his miniature horse and wheelchair between Hunter and Josh. The barrier was psychological, not physical. The tiny animal barely reached his knees and Rider was no match for either of them. But he was obviously pissed.

“This here meeting is only for folks I trust. And you, Hunter Feenie, ain’t one of ‘em.”

“I trust Hunter with my life. He stays with me.” Josh hadn’t meant to raise his voice, but since it silenced the muttering crowd inside the warehouse, he decided to run with it. “If anyone has a problem with that, they’re free to go.”

“And then what? Will our entire families be branded as traitors if we leave? Will you sick your trackers on us and hunt us down like animals?” Josh searched the crowd, but in the dim light, it was impossible to determine who’d challenged him.

“I said you’re free to go, and that’s exactly what I meant. Leaving without hearing what I have to say is rude, but it’s not an act of treason.”

Two incredibly unattractive people, a man and a woman, shoved their way from the back of the warehouse towards the open door.

“But know this…” Josh drew himself up to his full six and a half feet and amplified his voice with magic. “If any of you betray me, you will pay the maximum penalty allowed by mage law.”

Josh didn’t know the first thing about mage law, but he assumed there’d be some contingency for dealing with traitors.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” The ugly man’s face reddened. Spit flew past his rotten teeth as he yelled at Josh. “What gives you the right to waltz in here and start threatening law-abiding citizens?”

Josh had known that his authority would be challenged at some point, but he hadn’t expected it to happen within five minutes of his arrival. Several lines from the Book of the Dead popped into his mind.
You were born to rule and reign.
To save us all from ruin and pain.
Defeat corruption with righteous valor
And the noble strength of royal power.
The stars and the planets are nearly aligned.
Blood calls to blood, its powers to bind.
You’ve been warned before, our patience wears thin.
Solstice approaches. It’s time to begin.
 

Josh didn’t want to be king, but he knew in his heart that if he didn’t step up and take control, right now, the Book of the Dead would find a way to punish him.
It might even hurt Channie.

“I asked you a question, boy.” The ugly man leaned in closer. His rancid breath burned Josh’s nose.