Finding Valor (50 page)

“I guess we’ll never know.” Josh took the rag from Channie and wiped her face. His touch was so gentle, so…comforting. “But I should have at least
tried!”

Channie tried to retake the wash rag, but Josh refused to give it up. She stopped insisting when she realized that performing this simple act of service for her gave him more comfort than her bathing him did. “If you’d spent all your energy healing Rider, you wouldn’t have been able to save anyone else—including his wife and children. What do you think he would have preferred?”

“I didn’t even know he was married.” Josh wiped between each of Channie’s fingers. “I wasn’t the only healer in there. You or Wisdom or one of the others could have saved them.”

Channie took Josh’s face in her hands. “Not all of them. Look around. We’re all drained.”

“Why didn’t they take everyone to the closest hospital? It’s not like they needed to hide magical injuries. All the wounds were caused by bullets…and assholes. This happened in Bowling Green. Why bring them all the way here?”

“Dominance knows who these people are. They aren’t safe anywhere but here.”

Dominance stared out the plate glass window overlooking the valley below Black Mountain, but the beauty of the landscape barely registered. The sniveling coward kneeling in front of her throne had brought some rather disconcerting news. He was probably just trying to save his own worthless neck, hoping his story of traitors among her trusted advisors, overwhelming rebel forces and an elemental mage that claimed to be one of her spies would impress her enough to pardon his sins. “Explain how you escaped unscathed when the rest of your comrades all fell in battle. Why are you the only survivor?”

 
“I think the elemental mage was protecting me. So he could warn you without blowing his cover.”

She might have believed him if he hadn’t thrown in the wild claim of an elemental mage. Why had he added that? The man was an obvious coward, but he didn’t seem overly stupid.

She looked down her nose at him. “Tell me more about this elemental mage. Describe him.”

“He’s young. Somewhere between twenty and twenty-five. And tall. Real tall, at least six and a half feet. He has dark wavy hair and blue eyes…” The man sucked in a quick breath and licked his lips.
 

“Go on.”
 

“It was dark, but I got a good look at his eyes while he was studying a map with a flashlight.” The coward’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’ve only ever seen a few other people with eyes that blue.”

Dominance clutched the arms of her throne. The Veyjivik line was famous for a lot of things, including sapphire blue eyes. Are you trying to tell me this young man is related to
me?”

“No, my queen.” He tucked his head into his hunched shoulders like a turtle. “I’m just saying his eyes are blue.”

“As blue as mine?”

He nodded.

“Did he tell you his name?”

“No, my queen.” He kept his head down. “But I heard someone call out to him during the battle.”

“How do you know it was him?”

“Because they called him ‘Prince’ Valor.”

Dominance gasped before she could lock down her emotions. She hated to appear anything less than perfectly poised, no matter how insignificant or lowly her audience. She nodded at the guard holding onto the coward’s left arm. “Execute him.”

~***~

Josh gritted his teeth, trying to keep his freaking head from exploding. The emergency council meeting had been dragging on for hours with no sign of wrapping up anytime soon.
 

Half the council wanted to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that the Bowling Green massacre wasn’t their problem. The other half wanted to storm Black Mountain immediately.

Josh was torn. He wanted revenge for the Bowling Green mages. He wanted Dominance to know that her heinous crimes would not go unpunished. He knew he had to keep Channie by his side but he hated to risk her life by dragging her into battle. The damn book said that she’d die if he didn’t, so he knew he would ultimately let her stay with him, but it never promised to keep her safe if he did. That burden was completely on Josh's shoulders.

Zen cleared his throat. “We’re lucky that the empties are blaming the death and destruction on arson. But if these battles continue to escalate in size and violence, it will be harder to avoid implicating ourselves. I propose that we send a small task force of our most experienced fighters to Black Mountain and assassinate the bitch.”

Zen was giving him an easy out. But Josh couldn’t take it. “According to the Book of the Dead, I’m supposed to face Dominance on winter solstice. I can’t do that if she’s already dead.”

“We can target her top advisors.”

“I’m not about to send my best men on a suicide mission.”

Channie squeezed Josh’s hand. “I agree with Zen. We need to take the offensive. But instead of targeting the head of the beast, I say we cut her feet out from under her.”

Josh was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to like the answer. “How?”

“By hunting her roving bands of murderers and taking ‘em out before they can kill any more innocent men, women and children.” Channie smiled at the nodding heads and positive remarks. “Who’s in favor?”

One by one, each member of the council voted to accept Channie’s plan. But this was not a democracy. The council members were advisors, not legislators. Josh’s vote was the only one that counted.

He needed the loyalty of his people to strengthen his magic if he had any hope of defeating Dominance. The months he’d spent hiding out with Channie in Colorado had eroded that loyalty. He needed to go on these patrols to regain the ground he’d lost. And he needed to take Channie with him. Not just because the Book of the Dead demanded it. But to prove to everyone, himself included, that the cause they were fighting for was worth any sacrifice.

Josh dug into the very depths of his soul, searching for the courage he needed to do what was right. He gazed into Channie’s emerald green eyes, burning with the desire to fight beside him. This was her war, too. “Let’s do this.”

~***~

Josh secured his weapon and leaned against the split rail fence to watch the rest of his group fire at the targets. He’d never worked so hard in his life. Not even when he was preparing to race at Grands.
 

He and Channie spent every free moment training with Intimidation Nesbit. Josh preferred Zen since he was an ex-marine and had more experience with military weapons, but he’d gone out with the first patrol, actively hunting for Dominance’s death squads.

Josh and Channie would be leaving with the next patrol as soon as Zen’s team got back and he wanted to be as prepared as possible. That’s why he was out there, shooting at paper targets in the middle of the afternoon instead of lounging in a hammock under a shade tree.

Sweat trickled down his back, along the hollow of his spine and pooled under his arms. Channie was the only woman at the firing range, so he peeled his shirt off and draped it over the fence. It was far too humid to hope the smelly thing would dry out, but at least it wasn’t clinging to his body.

He’d never be a great shot, but at least he knew how to clean, load and fire his weapon. Besides, you didn’t have to be a sniper to hit a target with an HK 416 assault rifle. His chewed up target was proof of that.

Channie was just as good a shot as most of the men. It did gave Josh a small measure of comfort every time she squeezed off a single round and hit the bull’s-eye.
 

Josh wished he was a better shot. Hell, he wished he was a better mage. Everyone was in awe of his ability to “manipulate non-living matter” but cleaning clothes, melting locks and bending spoons wasn’t very useful in combat. He’d overheated all the weapons at Black Mountain, disarming his own men as well as the enemy; but hadn’t been able to duplicate the effect. Wisdom and Vince thought the reason he’d been able to do it before was because he was under so much stress. Too bad he couldn’t stop bullets.

Josh froze. Maybe he could. He waited until Tim gave the command for everyone to secure their weapons and retrieve their targets. “I want to see if I can deflect bullets.”

Tim sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I was wondering when you were going to suggest it.”

“If you’d already thought of it—why didn’t
you
suggest it?”

“Because it’s reckless and stupid.”

“Set up a target at the edge of my shield and let Hunter Feenie shoot at it. Even if it doesn’t work, he won’t hit me.”

“No.”

“Come on!” If he knew his shield could protect Channie from bullets, he’d feel a lot better about taking her with him on patrol. “We can start small. Give him a .22. I’ll stand behind a tree or something.”

Tim clenched his jaw.
 

Josh held his breath. He could order Tim to allow it, and he would if he refused, but he’d rather have his full support.

Tim rubbed his forehead with his fingertips then sighed. “If you can get that pretty little wife of yours to agree, I’ll set it up.”

“Agree to what?” Channie wrapped her arms around Josh’s waist from behind. Her hair tickled his bare back.

“I want to see if my shield can stop bullets.” Josh explained how they were going to set up the test, emphasizing how ‘safe’ it would be.

“all right.”

“all right?” Josh couldn’t believe she agreed so easily.

“As long as I’m right there beside you.” She gave him a squeeze then slid around to stand beside him, trailing her fingers over his skin.
 

“No.”

“If it’s not safe enough for me, it’s not safe enough for you.”

“Damn it, Channie. Why do you have to make things so hard?”

She cocked her head and winked at him. “Because it’s my job.”

Tim coughed behind his fist but it didn’t completely disguise his laughter. “Um…I think I’ll go talk to Hunter and see if he’s willing to participate.”

That gave Josh an idea. “Are you willing to let Hunter decide whether or not to let you stand with me during the test?”

“Are you?”
 

Josh nodded. No way would Hunter put Channie at risk.

~***~

“Let me get this straight.” Hunter frowned at Josh. “You want me to shoot at you?”

“Not at me. At a target.” Josh could tell that Hunter didn’t like the idea. He needed to sell him on it. “If I can stop bullets, think of how many lives that would save.”

If he’d known he could stop bullets, he could have saved Shep.

“How far can you extend your shield?”

“Last time I tried, about thirty feet. I’ll be in a foxhole behind a wall of sandbags.”

Hunter scratched the back of his head. “all right.”
 

It took a couple of hours to dig the hole in the rocky ground. Josh even had to use his elemental powers to blast through a layer of granite.
 

Channie planted her hands on her hips. “You need to make it wider.”
 

“It’s fine.” Josh hopped into the hole and crouched down, hugging his knees. It was crowded, but he wasn’t going to be in there for more than a few minutes. “See? Everything’s covered. Even my head.”

“But there’s no room for me.”

“Oh, hell no.” Hunter held up his hands and arched his back. “I ain’t gonna do it.”

Channie punched Hunter’s arm. “You’re willing to shoot at Josh, but not me?”

Hunter rubbed his arm. “There ain’t no way to test his shield if I don’t shoot at it, but there’s no reason to jeopardize anyone else.”

Josh grinned then gave Channie a swat on the ass. “You lose, babe.”

“The Book of the Dead said for me to stay by your side.”

“I’m pretty sure that only applies to combat situations.”

“And I’m pretty sure that letting Hunter shoot at you
is
a combat situation.” Channie cupped Josh’s cheeks in her palms. “What if your shield works and the bullet ricochets off it? It could hit me.”

Josh hadn’t thought about a ricocheting bullet and from the look of horror on Tim’s face, neither had he.
 

“We can build a sandbag berm to protect Hunter. I’ll be sure everyone else stays in camp.”
 

The firing range was in a natural valley so the camp should be safe, but now that the seed of doubt had been planted, Josh didn’t feel good about disobeying the Book of the Dead. Maybe Channie
would
be safer in the foxhole with him. “Stand back. I’m going to widen the hole.”

When the dust settled, Josh hopped into the hole then reached up and grabbed Channie’s hips. She rested her hands on his shoulders as he lowered her into the hole.
 

Josh gently pushed her lower then covered her body with his.

Channie wiggled beneath him. “What are you doing?”

“I need to see the target.” He also needed to be sure she was safe.
 

Josh pictured bullets bouncing off his impenetrable shield as he raised it. He ducked his head and yelled, “Clear."

The
crack
of the .22 being fired was followed by a
ping
then a whoop of joy. “Ye-haw! It worked!”

Josh waited for Hunter to yell, “Clear,” then stood up and pulled Channie against his chest. For the first time, in a long time, he felt a surge of hope. He could protect her from bullets as well as magic.
 

He’d just pulled Channie out of the hole when one of her CDC boys ran up to them with the camp’s satellite phone. He was too out of breath to speak and just handed it to Josh.
 

A chill ran down his spine when he heard the sounds of battle coming from the phone. He recognized Zen’s voice, shouting orders.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re pinned down inside Lake Wappapello State Park. Can you send help?”

“What’s your situation?”

“We’re outnumbered. It was a trap.” Zen rattled off the coordinates. “Please, hurry.”

Josh used magic to remember the coordinates Zen gave him then grabbed the messenger boy’s arm. “Go get Intimidation Nesbit. Tell him to meet me at my tent.”

It took less than an hour to assemble a team, gear up and take off in the chopper. They landed in a small meadow about a mile from Zen’s coordinates and hiked the rest of the way in. Josh kept one hand on his weapon and the other on Channie. He wanted to raise his shield, but Tim warned him that it could reveal their location to the enemy.