Finding Valor by Charlotte Abel Page A

refugees pouring in every day.”
    “I thought the camp was supposed to be secret.”
    “Ms. Wisdom and the other master mages designed a misdirection spell that keeps out anybody with even a trace of loyalty to Dominance the Destroyer.”
    “The Destroyer?”
    Shep’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. His energy field pulsed with grief and rage. “She’s killing off entire clans, even the children. We cain’t wait until winter solstice. We need to take the fight to her as soon as possible.”
    “Josh isn’t ready to fight. He can’t even curse Hunter.”
    “Have you two got something against the Feenie clan?”
    “No. Why?”
    “Valor’s trying to curse Hunter and according to Ms. Wisdom, I ain’t the first Feenie boy you shot.”
    “It was an accident! I thought Hunter was a tracker.”
    “You need learn to look before you shoot, Missy.”
    “And you need to be more careful about who you sneak up on, Buster . I’ve been cursed, kidnapped, beaten and nearly raped. Momma’s already killed Abby and Daddy so excuse me if I’m a little trigger happy.”
    “Abby and Money are dead?” Shep’s already pale complexion turned to chalk.  
    Channie swallowed hard to keep from bursting into tears. “Momma murdered them.”
    Disbelief clouded Shep’s eyes. It was still hard for Channie to believe that Momma was capable of such evil, and she’d seen her kill Abby.
    “Momma stole the Book of the Dead. She’s addicted to dark magic. She would have killed Josh if I hadn’t traded death pledges with her.”
    “What’d you say in your death pledge?”
    “I swore to do everything she commanded.”
    “I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but why’d she go to all that trouble? Why didn’t she just kill you, too?”
      “She’s planning to sacrifice me on summer solstice.”
    “Why?”
    Channie sighed and wiped her bloody hands on her pants. “She triggered a curse on herself when she retrieved the Book of the Dead and thinks she can get out of it by killing me.”
    “Damn.”
    “Yeah. Damn.”  
    “I’m surprised Valor ain’t tried to rescue you.”
    “I had Momma cast a remember-not spell on him so he wouldn’t follow us.” Channie couldn’t keep her tears at bay any longer. She turned her back, but that didn’t stop Shep from trying to comfort her.
    He used the pine bench under the front window to pull himself to his feet then wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss. I know how you feel.”
    “How can you possibly know how I feel?” Channie ducked out from under Shep’s embrace.  
    His chin dropped to his chest. He took a slow breath then lifted his head. Grief etched his handsome face, making him appear years older than nineteen. “You ain’t the only one that’s lost close kin.”
    Fear squeezed Channie’s chest. She didn’t want to know, but she had to ask. “Who?”
    “Ma and Pa, Farmer, Peacekeeper and both their wives are dead.”
    “No.” Channie covered her mouth with both hands.
    “Steward and Hunter are missing.”
    Channie wiped her eyes on her shoulder then took Shep’s hands. “Hunter’s fine. He’s living and working in Las Vegas.”
    “Hunter got a job?” Shep’s eyes widened. “Doing what?”
    An inappropriate giggle escaped Channie’s throat, but laughing felt better than crying. “He calls it exotic dancing, but he’s a male stripper.”
    “No way! Ain’t no woman gonna pay to see that kid’s scrawny ass.”
    “Once he started getting regular meals, he filled out real nice.”  
    “You still got a thing for Hunter?”
    “No! I’m in love with Josh.” As if to prove her point, a blast of golden light shot out of Channie’s chest. She pressed a hand over the glow and closed her eyes.  
    She’d felt their bond tugging at her heart sporadically ever since Momma had erased Josh’s memory, but more frequently in the past few days. A part of her wanted to believe it was because Josh was fighting the remember-not spell.