Believe: The Complete Channie Series (9 page)

Channie
opened the front door and dropped her backpack on the linoleum floor in the entryway. Momma and Daddy must have hit the flea-market—or the local junkyard—while she was at school. The ratty old sofa they’d brought from home was the nicest thing in the room. Momma’s homemade incense, smoldering in every corner of the parlor could not mask the foreign smell of other people’s lives.

Channie gripped the wall and leaned around the corner to get a peek at the dining room and cringed. Centered under the crystal chandelier that came with the house was a picnic table, just like the ones at Heritage Park next door. She’d been so distracted by Josh that she wouldn’t have noticed whether or not one was missing.

Momma fanned smoke out the window while Daddy sat behind a stained formica table on a decrepit old chair with bent chrome legs. Tufts of off-white batting peeked out along the edges of the cracked vinyl. He was busy fiddling with some sort of electronic gadgetry and didn’t even look up when Channie pulled out a chair and sat down beside him.

“Hey baby girl, how was school?”

“Fine. Where’d the new dining room table come from?”

Daddy didn’t answer, but Channie hadn’t really expected him to admit he’d stolen it. He held the gadget up and lifted his gaze to Channie’s face. “You didn’t happen to learn anything about these little thing-a-m’bobs at that fancy-pants school of yours, did you?”

Channie sighed. Daddy had never gone to a regular school. Everything he knew, he'd either learned on his own, or picked up from other mages. He didn’t have much use for schools. She said, “If you want, I can take it with me tomorrow and ask one of my teachers. I’m sure at least one of them will know what it is and how to fix it.”

“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll get ‘er figured out—one way or another.”

Momma snorted and quit fanning the smoke long enough to turn around and yell at Daddy. “Next time maybe you’ll stop and think before you go and yank something plum out of the ceiling before you even know what it is.”

“Well, if you’d pay attention to what you’re doing, maybe you wouldn’t set the kitchen on fire every blamed time you turn on the stove.”

Abby leaned over the railing and shouted, “Can y’all keep it down? We’re trying to sleep up here!”

Momma and Daddy kept arguing, but they dropped their voices to a whisper. Channie decided to leave before Momma and Daddy started throwing curses at each other. She slipped out of the kitchen, grabbed her backpack off the entryway floor and crept upstairs.

As soon as she opened the door to her room, Channie’s heart sank. Her bedroom furniture all matched—which was a miracle—but it was hideous. She might have liked the ornately carved white furniture with its metallic gold trim five years ago. But even then, she would have hated the frilly pink canopy over the bed. She’d never been a lace and ruffles sort of girl.

Momma and Daddy were still whisper-yelling at each other when Channie snuck back downstairs to get a screwdriver out of Daddy’s tool chest in the garage.

It took her less than fifteen minutes to remove and disassemble the wire frame that held the canopy. She piled everything in the back of her closet and shut the door. The whole room looked better. Maybe she could talk Momma into buying a small can of blue paint with some of her grocery money. If Channie could paint over the gold trim with a nice dark blue, she’d actually like her new furniture. Her favorite color was red, why did she want blue paint? Channie tried, and failed, to convince herself it had nothing to do with the color of Joshua Abrim's eyes.

A
little past midnight, the sound of weeping woke Channie from a deep sleep.

She crept downstairs and found everyone—except Abby—gathered in the parlor. And everyone—except Courage—in tears.

Daddy sat in the green wingback chair between the front windows. His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy.

Momma was on the sofa with Savvy and Zeal clinging to her neck and wailing at the top of their lungs. Momma’s sobs were almost as loud as the boys’.

Courage stood in the middle of the room by himself with his spine ram-rod straight and his shoulders pulled back like a little soldier. He was definitely the calmest person in the room and the one most likely to tell her what was going on.

“CoCo, what happened?”

“Savvy had a bad dream. He went to crawl in bed with Momma, but she was gone.” As soon as the words left his mouth, his whole body trembled, but he did not cry. Courage never cried.

“But, she’ll be back soon, right?” Channie already knew in her heart that Abby was gone for good. She also knew exactly where she’d gone. And who she was with...Diego.

Daddy shoved a wrinkled piece of paper at Channie and said. “That thieving little whore ain’t welcome in this house. And she sure as hell ain’t getting these boys.”

Channie read the letter silently …

Dear Momma and Daddy,

First of all, I ain’t mad at neither one of you, but I can’t stay here no more. I borrowed some money outta Daddy’s chest. I’ll pay it back as soon as I can. I am going to make a home for myself and the boys and once I get settled in I’m coming back for my babies. Tell them I love them and that I already miss them and I wish I could have taken them with me. I don’t know how long it will take, but I will come for them someday.

Tell Channie I’m sorry and to remember everything we talked about.

Love,

Abundance

Friends

M
OMMA
AND
D
ADDY
PUT
A
be-calm spell on the boys and each other then went to bed. Channie declined their offer to do the same for her. She had school tomorrow and didn’t want to be drowsy all day. After tossing and turning for forty-five minutes, she regretted her decision, but it was too late to change her mind. Momma and Daddy were already asleep.

She could put a be-calm spell on herself, but it wasn’t a good idea. Casting mood-altering spells on yourself was tricky and rarely worked the way you wanted.

Channie couldn’t bear the weight of her blankets and kicked them off, but the air in her room still felt thick and heavy. She got out of bed, raised her window and leaned outside. The air was cold but dry, so it wasn’t uncomfortable. The light of the waning moon fell softly across her head and shoulders, soothing her. Channie knew she’d never be able to fall back asleep so she got dressed and climbed out onto the roof. She sat there for about five minutes, then climbed down.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts she was halfway to the pavilion in the park before she realized where she was going. The picnic table was hidden in the shadows so when a familiar voice quietly greeted her, she jumped.

“Josh! What are you doing out here?”

“Stalking you.”

“Really?” Channie knew she should be concerned, but she was more flattered than anything.

“No, not really.”

Josh leaned forward into a silver-blue pool of moonlight. His mouth quirked sideways into a crooked grin and his eyes sparkled with mischief. He was flirting with her. Channie wasn’t in the mood for playful banter, but she was glad Josh was here. She didn’t want to be alone.

He said, “I’m a chronic insomniac and I hate taking sleeping pills. Riding my bike helps me relax and Heritage Park is one of my favorite places to hang out so I’m not really stalking you, it just looks that way.”

“Oh.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Ouch.”

“Sorry.”

“At least you didn’t run away screaming.”

“I’m not the screaming type.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. But finding you outside on a school night at three o’clock in the morning does. What’s up with that?”

“I couldn’t sleep either. My sister ...” To Channie’s utter and complete humiliation, all the emotion she’d kept bottled up inside burst free in a single but desperate sob.

Josh flew off the picnic table and wrapped his arms around Channie so fast she didn’t have a chance to warn him, much less stop him.

The first thing she felt was a warm, gentle pulse of energy. It was identical to the energy she’d stolen from Josh after his fight with Eric, only more potent. It flowed into Channie and filled her heart-of-hearts till it overflowed. Enchantment was fully charged for the first time since her name change.

Unfortunately, even fully charged, Enchantment’s magic was no match for Chastity’s curse. The strength of Josh’s arms surprised her. But it was his scent—a subtle mixture of sandalwood and lemons—that caught her off guard.

Chastity’s prickly magic sprang to life. Channie stiffened—inadvertently pulling Josh closer—as she tried to control the negative energy that wanted to attack him.

Josh was radiating nothing but pure compassion. What was generating so much lust? Channie’s face burned when she realized it was coming from her. She had to get away from Josh before she cursed him.

He let go the instant she began to struggle and stepped back—holding his hands away from his body, palms out.

He said, “I’m Sorry.”

“Me too.” Channie did her best to stop the curse—draining every bit of Enchantment’s power in the process. She squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed fistfuls of her hair—tugging until it made her eyes water in an effort to stop thinking about the feel of Josh’s arms around her and the sound of his heart as she pressed her cheek against his rock-hard chest.

But there was nothing she could do about his scent. She had to breathe.

When Chastity’s magic blasted out of her, Channie opened her eyes—just in time to see Josh collapse onto the picnic bench.

Channie didn’t know which was more humiliating, breaking down and crying over Abby in front of Josh, or cursing him because she couldn’t control her own lust.

She wanted to run for home, but she needed to be sure Josh was alright first.

He gripped the edge of the table, blinked twice, then left his eyes wide open. A rim of white completely encircled his irises. “Why did you do that?”

“I didn’t mean to, it just happened. I told you I was cursed.”

“Whatever.” Josh got on his bike and rode away without looking back. Channie watched until he disappeared into the tunnel that crossed under Cherry Street then went home and stared at the ceiling above her bed until the sun came up.

When
Channie got to school the next morning, Josh wouldn’t even look at her. He kept his gaze locked onto his textbook all during first period and bolted from the room the second the bell rang. Channie looked for him at lunch, but he was sitting with that jackass, Eric and his bitch of a girlfriend, Kassie.

She stared at the back of Josh’s head, debating whether or not to approach him when he stiffened and looked over his shoulder. It was as if he sensed her presence. A momentary flicker of pain slid across his face when his gaze first met hers. It lasted less than a second. Channie took a single step forward and lifted her hand involuntarily. It hung in the air, level with her waist. Josh pressed his mouth into a thin, hard line and glared at her, then turned away.

Channie was surprised by how much his hostility hurt—she hardly knew the boy. They’d shared one kiss and one comforting embrace—and a couple of accidental curses. That didn’t mean he was her soulmate. But he was her only friend.

She decided to catch up with him after school and try to explain what happened, but he was already gone by the time she got to the bike racks. A mixture of emotions—all of them negative—poured into Chastity’s power-well. By the time Channie got home from school, she was ready to explode.

The garage door was open. Daddy was lying on his back, under the VW bus, his tools spread out next to him. This was all his fault. Well, his and Momma’s.

Channie twisted her hair into a rope and held onto it so it wouldn’t fall into the pool of oil spreading across the garage floor. She leaned over and stuck her head under the bus. “I’m inviting a friend over for supper tomorrow night and I expect you to be nice to him.”

Daddy shot out from under the bus, his eyes hard and dangerous.

Channie should have been terrified. She wasn’t. Chastity’s magic feasted on Daddy’s rage.

He took three long deep breaths and wiped his hands on a red shop towel—calming himself. “I don’t like your tone of voice, young lady.”

“And I don’t like what you and Momma did to me. So either give me my name back or deal with it.”

Daddy’s face turned scarlet. He stood up and unbuckled his belt.

Normally, Channie would have apologized and begged Daddy to forgive her—or run for her life. Of course, if things were normal, Channie never would have antagonized Daddy in the first place. But things weren’t normal. Not anymore.

Channie hadn’t meant to curse Eric or Josh. Each time had been an accident, but it was no accident when she cursed Daddy. She waited until he grabbed her wrist and jerked her around to lay his belt across her back, then released Chastity’s power. He got his shield up before her curse hit him, but it was about as effective as a window pane against a brick.

Daddy flew back against the far wall of the garage then slid to the floor, landing on his butt, legs stiff and spread-eagled in front of him. He blinked a couple of times, then fell over sideways.

Channie waited and watched. But Daddy didn’t move. His lips turned blue. Just how much power had she used on him? “Daddy? Are you okay?”

She knelt down beside him and squeezed his hand. He squeezed back with cold fingers, but his grip was weak. Channie said, “I’ll be right back, I’m gonna go get Momma.”

It
took Daddy a full hour before he could stand on his own without support. Channie felt guilty for hurting him, but she also felt ... empowered. Chastity’s magic still thrummed under her skin, it still felt prickly, but instead of irritating Channie, it energized her. For the first time in her life, she wasn't afraid of Daddy or Momma or anyone...not even the Veyjiviks.

Channie was drunk with power. She held onto the wall and leaned into the parlor where Momma and Daddy had their heads pressed together, whispering. They both looked up, fear and anxiety radiating off their bodies. Daddy forced a smile and said, “What do you need, baby girl?”

She needed her old name back. She needed Abby to come home. She needed to patch things up with Josh. She said, “I need a phone.”

Momma leaned back against the sofa, folded her arms across her chest and smiled. Daddy sighed and nodded his head. “Alright. I’ll call the phone company tomorrow and set up an appointment.”

Channie said, “Good. We need a house phone. But that isn’t what I meant. I want my own phone; a cell phone that I can take with me to school.”

Daddy’s face wasn’t the only one that turned crimson.

Momma narrowed her eyes and said, “You got some nerve coming in here after attacking your Daddy, making demands like that.”

“Everybody at school has their own phone. I’m not being unreasonable. And you didn’t seem to mind my demands when you thought it was for something you wanted.”

Momma cast a stinging spell at Channie but she was ready for it and deflected it without raising her shield. Momma leapt off the sofa and slapped Channie’s face so hard it jerked her head to the side. The stinging spell would have been less painful, and a whole lot less humiliating.

Channie pressed her palm against her cheek to soothe the hurt and said, “If you ever raise a hand to me again, I’ll—”

“You’ll what? Try to curse me like you did your Daddy?”

Momma came from a long line of Master Mages. Even though Channie came from that same line, she wasn’t an adult and her powers weren’t fully developed. Still, if she could best Momma, right now, she could force her to remove this horrible curse and restore Enchantment’s power. She didn’t want to hurt Momma, but if she didn’t stand up to her now, she’d never get her name back.