Authors: Charlotte Abel
“Don’t tell me where you are! Throw your phone away and go back to … where you started. I’ll meet you there.” Aunt Wisdom ended the call without giving Channie a chance to tell her they were low on fuel. She called back, but Aunt Wisdom didn’t pick up.
They’d gone over this scenario too many times for Channie to have any hope that Aunt Wisdom hadn’t already destroyed her phone. There was no point trying to call her from Josh’s phone, but Channie tried anyway. Without success.
She opened her door and tossed her phone outside then drove another mile down the mountain before she found a switchback to turn around. They ran out of gas about a quarter mile from the shack.
“Josh, I need you to send a distress signal.”
“I don’t know how.”
Channie leaned across the console and put her frozen hand on his cheek. “Josh? Listen to me. A distress spell is instinctive, it’s usually the first spell a child casts. You can do it. I know you can. Just focus.”
“I’m so tired, I can’t even find my power-well right now.”
If they were going to survive long enough for Aunt Wisdom to come looking for them, they needed to do something to generate some heat. “Then make love to me.”
Josh opened his eyes halfway and curved the left side of his mouth into a crooked grin. “I’m glad you find me irresistible, but I’m too tired.” He closed his eyes again and said, “First thing tomorrow morning. Kay?”
“If we don’t get help soon. We aren’t going to live until morning. You’ll never have sex again.”
He blinked his eyes open and said, “What?”
“We are going to die within the hour. You will never ride your bike again, you will never see your parents or your brother again,
and
you will never have sex again. Got it?”
Josh reached for Channie’s hand, squinted his eyes and trembled as he used the last of his energy.
The spell was weak, but if anyone was in the area, they’d feel it. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a tracker.
Channie shook Josh’s shoulder, but he was unconscious again. He’d obviously given everything he had to fuel the distress spell. She knew better than to leave the car — but if she had any hope of saving him, she had to find help.
She kissed Josh’s cold, stiff lips, whispered, “I love you,” into his ear, then headed for the shack.
She focused on putting one foot in front of the other and hoped her sense of direction wouldn’t fail her in the blizzard.
It did.
At first, Channie thought she was dreaming. Hunter Feenie was leaning over her, shaking her shoulders, patting her cheeks. She brushed his hands away and groaned.
“Wake up. We need to get you back to the shack.”
“Josh?” She reached for him, but all she found was empty air.
“He’s already gone.”
To keep reading, go to Amazon and download
Taken
.
In Praise of
ENCHANTMENT
“This book will make you believe in magic.”—J. Timothy King author of
From the Ashes of Courage
“This unique addition to the paranormal romance genre deals with teenage sexuality in a nuanced yet discreet way ... recommended for fans of the Twilight series, Harry Potter, or paranormal romance in general.”
—
Jared Oliver Adams author of
Whiteface
and
One Good Thing
"This book took me to places I've never been... Once I was
drawn in, I was unable to put it down until the end." —
Shannon Dermott author of
Beg for Mercy
"Magic, treachery, humor and thrills ... flat out fun to read. Five Stars!" — Ben Langhinrchs author of
My Cozy Chair
(review blog)
“The writing is superb, really polished plot and characters … a whole new world to get lost in.” — Jason Matthews author of
The Little Universe
and
Jim’s Life
"Every girl wants their prince charming to be just like Josh. It made me cry and laugh and gasp ... a make your heart warm and tingle kind of love story!"
“If you crave excitement and danger with your romance and can't get enough of Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, or Cassandra Clare make room on your Kindle for
Enchantment
!
”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlotte Abel was born and raised in Oklahoma. She spent many happy summers visiting relatives in Arkansas. She now lives in Colorado with her husband, Pete and loves hiking, biking, snowshoeing and skiing in the Rocky Mountains, but will always have a special fondness for the Ozarks.
Visit her at
TheChannieSeries.com
You can also find Charlotte at
Amazon.com
and
Goodreads.com
Check out
Channie’s Diary
online
If you enjoyed
Enchantment
I hope you’ll recommend it to your friends and take a moment to help maximize its exposure on
Amazon.com
and write a quick review.
So many people contributed to this process, I hesitate to thank anyone, lest I forget someone. With that disclaimer … I must thank: Carol Burkett for meeting with me every Monday afternoon to discuss her edits and argue over the Harlequin moments in each scene; Kris Kendall for beta-reading three different drafts (one of them about twice as long as this one); Daniel Noyes for his male perspective and help with Josh and Eli’s characters; The Finch family for sharing their knowledge of BMX racing. (My misrepresentation of the sport and its fictional participants was necessary to serve the needs of the plot. It’s actually a very wholesome and family-friendly sport.)
I want to thank Aaron and Becky Abel, for letting me take over the office in their oceanside home while I finished the final draft; my writing buddies from boot camp for their honest opinions and insightful suggestions; Orson Scott Card for encouraging me to turn the short story I wrote during his workshop into this novel.
I also want to thank my friends and family for their patience and support this past year. And for not whining (too much) when I neglected them for weeks at a time. Love you guys!
Last but not least, I want to thank Randi, Jen, Nadia, Katie, Tessa and all the “Life Sucks” readers, beta-readers and editors that believed in me. It was your 2,000+ reviews and awards for “Best Plot” and “Best Author” that first convinced me I was a “real” writer.
Beg for Mercy
Excerpt
Read a bonus excerpt from
Beg for Mercy
by Shannon Dermott – available now!
This had not been a good idea. I’d known from the beginning nothing good would come from it. But my best friend, Maggie, had begged and begged. Her Irish green eyes had been intent on mine with a facial expression that wouldn’t take no for an answer. Even though my instincts had warned me against it, against coming to this stupid party and possibly risking the very lives of anyone around me, I hadn’t. Wasn’t this what best friends were for? Maybe not.
But, here I sat in a small disorganized circle, loud music pounding against the walls in muted thumps, secluded amongst the ‘elite students’ of my school. I had ignored the very reasons why I shouldn’t be in this room. This is where I’d made my second mistake of the night.
It was here where I posed the most danger to those around me. My eyes bounced around to the beat of the music watching everyone laugh and have a good time. Everyone wanted to be here except me. There was a sudden burst of laughter so boisterous I had to assume there had been a joke I’d missed while caught up in my own self repugnance.
My eyes roved around the room glossing over a huge wooden desk, an oversized brown leather sofa and a bookcase the length of the whole wall. This supposed library was just as big if not bigger than the size of any two rooms in my house. We all sat in the middle on an intricate plush rug with me as the odd person in a chain of paired couples. Desperately, I needed a way out of this mess before it got out of hand.
I first caught a glance at Maggie with her flaming red hair. Her eyes twinkled with delight in my direction. I tried to give her the silent look that would let her know that I wanted to leave as soon as possible. But she averted my gaze, her eyes in favor of the guy at her left, letting me know she wasn’t quite ready to leave. And who would blame her? She was sitting next to Brent Mitchell. I had heard his name come from her lips ever since the first day of our freshman year at Everett High. He’d been the one that she’d always pined over even while she dated other guys. So now he had finally asked her out. And for that one reason alone I’d tagged along to this party.
Following her gaze, my eyes then roamed over to Brent. In doing so I was reminded why she was so into him, with his dark tousled hair and brooding good looks. He wasn’t handsome in the traditional sense but rather a raw attractiveness that fit with his hulking body frame. And not only was he good looking but he was a star football player for our school’s team. He was a force to be reckoned with on and off the field. I was truly happy that Brent had finally noticed her.
I met his brown eyes and caught him smiling at me with faint amusement. Startled that he’d been looking at me watch him, I adverted my eyes in favor of the guy next to him.
That guy, the man of the hour, was Jay Brisentine. He was tall, blonde, beautiful and the host of this senior party. Normally, I wouldn’t call a guy beautiful but there just wasn’t a better way to describe him. He too played on our illustrious football team but he was better known as the leader of the Lacrosse team.
His long time girlfriend, Kathy Peterson, was curled next to him with her dark hair, stormy eyes, and equally good genes. I couldn’t help but wonder what their kids would look like because if any couple would survive high school and get married it would be them. Their history together started way back in middle school.
Continuing my venture around the group, my eyes led me to Amanda Edmond. She was Kathy’s best friend and head cheerleader. Her fit of giggles had cooled as she tossed her bombshell blonde hair over her shoulder, her eyes settling on mine. Her pouty mouth turned into a frown. I was puzzled by her look of disapproval because she hadn’t protested against my being here in the first place.
Quickly, I looked away from her to give Flynn McCallister, leading bad boy, and Amanda’s boyfriend, a glance. He was the only other junior besides Maggie and me in the room. I could have known without looking that his sandy brown hair was swept up in a modern faux Mohawk, which had that slightly messy touch to it that hot guys alone could only perfect. And that his eyes were cold and blue, set on a face that was more than amazing.
Maggie made a noise to get my attention. My head snapped back to her. I didn’t quite get the message that I saw on her face. She gestured with her head at an odd angle. I gave her a quizzical look, mouthing What until I followed her eyes down to the center of our circle. What I saw chilled me to my very core. I really shouldn’t have come here tonight.
A hand on my arm jolted me. I turned to meet Flynn’s gaze. I hated how looking at him always seemed to melt my heart and render me speechless. It was the same effect he had on most girls including me, unfortunately. He was too gorgeous for words and worst yet he knew it. And being a junior and football team captain didn’t help his inflated ego either. It had only given him the respect of the seniors above him as well as the rest of the school. His abilities to throw the ball and lead the team to state the past two years had sealed his position as the most popular boy in school. He walked down the halls of school like he owned them and to tell the truth he did. I hated him because of it. Girls were aware of his reputation of breaking hearts yet they continued to throw theirs at him time and time again. But I wasn’t going to fall for his shenanigans. Nope, not me.
“Flynn, she has a choice you know,” a voice said from somewhere beside me. I turned my head to see it was Luke I-couldn’t-remember-his-last-name. He too, I realized was crush worthy but paled in Flynn’s shadow. It was hard to imagine that looking at him now. He was all golden skin and blond curls, looking much like the perfect California surfer. How had I forgotten he was sitting next to me? Staring at him only made me realize more just how cute he was.
Flynn and Luke were best friends but I had hardly paid any attention to Luke these past two years. I’d been too busy ignoring Flynn with the best of my abilities to know much about him. Then it dawned on me. I had forgotten to count Luke. There weren’t seven of us. Luke made eight. Each pair was a couple except Luke and me. Was I being set up with him?
Faintly, I remembered hearing that he’d broken up with his girlfriend a few weeks ago. But at the moment I couldn’t remember the full story. I was too busy trying to reconcile with how I’d allowed myself to get into this situation and how I could even be in the same room filled with what most of our classmates dubbed as the wealthiest and most beautiful people of our school, ‘the elite’. No one else in the school compared to them.
When I felt Flynn’s hand drop from my arm, I turned my head to look down at fate as it pointed at me. “Come on, what are you going to do?”
I looked up this time to find it had been Amanda who’d spoken. Her voice was filled with disapproval but not of the anger I would have expected if I’d been Flynn’s girlfriend. But that was not how I operated. In fact, I simply didn’t date. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. It wasn’t just a moral decision as most would assume. I did it because I didn’t want anyone to die.