Believe: The Complete Channie Series (33 page)

“Are you going to put that thing on, or just hold it all day?”

Channie grinned and slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. It was a little wiggly, so she pulled the loose thread from her napkin, unravelling the hem, and wound it around the ring.

Josh said, “What are you doing?”

“It’s a little loose. I don’t want to lose it.”

“Since we aren’t ordering dessert, we have enough time to take it back to Zales before fourth period and get it resized. Now stand up so I can get a hug.”

Channie wrapped her arms around Josh’s waist and pressed the side of her face against his chest, over his pounding heart. She said, “I never...in my wildest dreams...ever imagined anything this beautiful could belong to me.“

Josh kissed the top of her head. “Ditto.”

It
took a whole week for the jewelry store to resize Channie’s ring, but it was worth the wait. The first day she wore it to school, no less than six girls stopped her in the halls and asked to see it. Kassie took Channie’s left hand and twisted it back and forth then blinked when a sparkle struck her eye. She laughed and said, “What’d you do, Josh? Rob a bank?”

Channie had already activated the IFB curse on his shield so she couldn’t even touch his sleeve. A warm sensation built inside her heart-of-hearts then exploded outwards as their magical connection unfurled.

Josh gasped when it buried itself in his chest. Love, passion and joy flowed back and forth between them.

Channie whispered, “I love you.”

Josh pressed a hand over his heart and mouthed, “forever.”

But they didn’t have forever. Each night as the moon waned thinner, Channie’s anxiety waxed stronger.

Channie
woke on the sixteenth of November, too distraught to crawl out of bed.

Mrs. Abrim stuck a digital thermometer in Channie’s ear. She pulled it out after it beeped and said, “That can’t be right.” She did it again, in Channie’s other ear. “Your temp is a full two degrees below normal, you must be coming down with something.”

“Yes, ma’am. I believe so.” A severe case of dread.

“Do you want me to stay home with you? I have a few days of sick leave saved up.”

“No, thank you. I’ll be fine. But if you could bring me a little valerian or chamomile tea before you go, it might help.”

“The only tea I have is Earl Grey. Do you want me to call your mother? I’m sure—”

“NO! I mean, no ma’am. Please don’t call my momma.”

Mrs. Abrim sat on the edge of Channie’s bed and brushed her hair off her forehead. “We haven’t really talked about what happened the night your parents came home and found you and Josh in bed.”

Channie’s temperature instantly went from sub-normal to fevered. She hid her face behind her hands.

“Channie. I’m not judging you.” Mrs. Abrim patted Channie’s arm. “Normally, I’d insist you at least call them, but Josh has told me a little about your parents. We may need to look into a long-term solution.”

“Long term?”

“As much as I’d like to let you stay here indefinitely, it’s really not appropriate.” Mrs. Abrim stood up and smoothed her shirt down over her hips. “If you don’t feel safe at home, we should consider foster care.”

Channie had no intention of letting Mrs. Abrim dump her onto a family of strangers. She’d swallow her pride and move back home before she went into foster care.

Mrs. Abrim said, “I didn’t mean to upset you. We can wait a little longer and see if things calm down at home. You have my number in your phone, call me if you need anything.”

Channie picked at the fuzz on her blanket and nodded.

Mrs. Abrim gave her a quick hug then went back downstairs.

Even with the door shut, Channie could hear Josh and Elijah campaigning to stay home and take care of her. Elijah continued to beg even as the family exited the house, but Josh gave up a little too easily. Sure enough, he walked through the front door at nine-fifteen.

His clown-sized feet rattled the house as he bounded up the stairs and burst into Channie’s room.

Channie said, “Did you even go to class?”

“I couldn’t concentrate knowing you were home...all alone and lonely...in bed …” He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.

“Joshua Vincent Abrim!”

“You sound just like my mom.”

“And what do you think she’d say if she knew you were here instead of at school?”

“How about we not tell her?”

“You are impossible.”

Josh kicked off his shoes and leapt onto the bed, straddling Channie’s hips with his feet. He bounced gently, making the bedsprings creak, and smirked at her. “Besides, you didn’t activate that itching thing on my shield this morning.”

“Oh, crap. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I took a detour down to Hole-In-One Bagel then came home. You want a bagel? I bought a cranberry-walnut one for you.”

He bounced the bed harder, making Channie scramble for the blankets to keep herself covered. “Maybe later.”

“So, are you
really
sick?”

“Would it matter?”

“If you’re sick, I’ll bring you chicken soup. If you’re not, let’s go downstairs and watch a movie.”

“You mean...make out.”

“Of course.”

“I’m not sick, sick, but I am a nervous wreck. Now get off my bed.”

“Actually it’s my bed, but I don’t mind sharing.”

“Josh! Cut it out.”

“The new moon tonight freaking you out?”

“Well, duh.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“We need to decide if we’re going to open the book again.”

“Of course we are. It’s the only way to free ourselves from these damned curses that are trying to destroy us. Right?”

“I think so. But I don’t really know.”

Josh bounced onto his butt and sat beside Channie, then twisted sideways and leaned closer. “Maybe I’ll finally be able to kiss you tonight.”

She put her hand on his chest and pushed him back. “What if the book makes things worse?”

“Something tells me it would be a huge mistake to ignore the book.” He kissed the top of her head then hopped off the bed. “We need to do what it says. Trust me.”

If Channie had trusted Josh when he said they should remove the stains underwater, he wouldn’t have suffered. She wished she’d never laid eyes on that damned book.

“All right. I trust you.”

Channie and Josh pretended to watch a movie as they laid side by side in his bed, but she wouldn’t let him put on his gloves. Trust only goes so far when dealing with an adolescent boy. He got downright whiney about it, until Channie threatened to send him back to school.

They decided to meet in the soundproof entertainment room in the basement thirty minutes after midnight to open the Book of the Dead.

Channie
couldn’t stand lying in bed, waiting as the seconds ticked by. She threw off the covers, got dressed and went to the window.

Her breath frosted the glass. She drew a heart with her finger and wrote “Joshua Vincent Abrim” in the middle of it. She blew on the glass and drew another. This time she wrote “Mrs. Enchantment Abrim.” The clouds parted. A faint glow of sapphire blue rimmed the edge of the new moon. It was beautiful—the exact color of Josh’s eyes—but unlike Josh’s eyes, this particular new moon felt sinister. The way it blotted out a perfect circle of stars and punched a hole in the night sky, filled Channie with a sense of foreboding. She hugged her arms to her chest and shivered.

At a quarter past midnight, Channie couldn’t wait any longer. She grabbed her back pack and a flashlight. Her hands shook, causing the beam to waver on the carpet as she tiptoed downstairs—avoiding the fifth step from the top.

Josh was lying on his stomach with his face turned towards the back of the sofa, his left arm hung over the edge, fingers softly curled with the back of his knuckles resting on the floor. The covers were a tangled mess around his waist, but he was wearing a t-shirt so Channie was able to touch his shoulder without burning either of them. “Josh. Wake up, it’s time.”

He propped himself up on his elbows and said, “Hey, beautiful. You ready to do this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Channie tried not to look as Josh pulled a pair of sweats on over his boxers, but felt no need to avert her gaze when he took off his t-shirt to replace it with a more cuddle-compatible hoodie. When they got to the basement, the only light other than their flashlights came from a glowing green dot on the front of one of the electronic game boxes. Josh swore and switched it off. “If Elijah burns out another console, I’m going to wring his scrawny little neck.”

Channie sat on the floor and pulled her journal and the Book of the Dead out of her backpack. Josh propped a chair under the doorknob and dialed the adjustable lights to their lowest setting. Channie untied the knot in the pillowcase, but hesitated to put her hand inside.

Josh said, “You want me to get it?”

Channie shook her head and shoved her hand into the pillowcase. A tingling sensation ran up her arm as soon as she touched the book. She lowered it onto the floor and knelt in front of it. Josh scooted around to sit cross-legged beside her, bumping her thigh with his knee. He arched his eyebrows and said, “Together?”

Channie nodded. They both trembled like autumn leaves in a storm and opened the book.

Lavender, lemon, sage and sandalwood filled Channie’s nose. Josh inhaled deeply and said, “It smells like us, right?”

“Yes.” The scent was reassuring and mildly intoxicating.

The book grew warm as the sparkling flame leapt from the blank page and engraved the next step of the spell …

True love’s kiss will set you free

But pure and chaste it must be.

One unclean thought will seal your fate

Changing all you love—to all you hate.

Daughter of power, conquer your fear

For in the fire, your path becomes clear.

A royal mage you must wed,

Before you share a lover’s bed.

Son of darkness, heed this advice,

Forsake all others that might entice

And lead astray with a wanton smile