Enchantment by Charlotte Abel

turned on the lights … or because he had to play host to an Empty. When he finally released Josh’s hand, the poor boy’s fingers were white. He extended them, balled them into a fist then stretched them out again.
    Channie shot Daddy a warning glance.  
    He stuck his thumbs in his belt and smirked at her.  
    If Daddy thought she wouldn’t curse him in front of Josh, he had another think coming. She cast an itching spell at him but since it wasn’t a particularly strong spell, he was able to deflect it onto Josh. It hit him in the center of his chest. He nearly ripped his clothes off before Channie was able to reverse the spell.
    Josh’s face turned bright red. He smoothed the front of his shirt with his palms and cleared his throat. “Do you guys have a cat? I’m allergic to cats.”
    Channie sighed and said, “Come on, let’s go to my room.”
    Daddy stepped in front of Josh and said, “Over my dead body.”
    Josh stiffened and glanced at the front door.
    Channie almost fell for it. Daddy wanted her to attack him with a debilitating curse. If she scared Josh away for good, she’d have no one to blame but herself. Maybe it would better serve her purposes to reassure Daddy that her stupid power-name was more of a chaperone than he’d ever be.
    She took Josh’s hand, said, “I’m so sorry,” and gazed into his dark blue eyes.  
    Josh jerked away from Channie with a yelp and backed towards the door.  
    Daddy laughed and for some reason that stopped Josh in his tracks. He stared at Daddy then shifted his gaze to Channie. “What’s going on here?”
    Channie rubbed her temples then dropped her hands when she realized she was mimicking Momma. “I already told you.”
    Daddy chuckled again and shook his head.  
    Channie pointed her finger at him and said, “You behave or I’ll deal with you later.”
    Daddy’s face turned red and the vein in his forehead pulsed but he just gritted his teeth and nodded.
    “Come on, Josh, let’s go upstairs.”  
    Josh’s gaze flicked between Daddy and the front door. Channie didn’t have to be a mind-reader to know he was weighing his options. He squared his shoulders and headed for the stairs. Yes! Channie grinned and led the way to her room.  
    ~***~
    Josh inspected her room with a dazed expression on his face. Channie was glad she’d removed that stupid canopy before he had a chance to see it. He shoved his hands in his front pockets and said, “Do you have a docking station? I’ve got some decent tunes on my iPod.”  
    “Sorry, no.” Channie had no idea what he was talking about. Josh stared at his feet as the silence between them sucked the air out of her room. She opened her window then groaned in frustration when she saw Courage crawling across the roof.  
    She leaned out, grabbed him by the back of his overalls and pulled him inside.  
    “I ought to paddle your ornery little butt for pulling a stunt like that! You could have fallen and broken your neck!”
    He said, “Sorry, Channie,” but his devilish grin said, ‘what you gonna do about it?’ He cocked his head to the side and glared at Josh. “Who are you and what are you doing in Channie’s room?”
    Josh put his hands on his knees and squatted down till he was almost eye-level with the little monster. “My name’s Josh, and I’m a friend of your sister’s. How did you get on the roof?”  
    “She ain’t my sister and I climbed up the rocks on the front of the house. It was easy.”
    Josh crossed the room to look out the window and gasped. Channie didn’t need to look outside to know what had startled him. Courage and Zeal were usually partners in crime. Josh practically dove out the window. He pulled Zeal inside and set him on the floor. “Holy freakin’ cow. There’s two of them.”  
    “Actually, there’s three. But Savvy’s too smart to try a stunt like that … although he’s probably the master-mind behind it.” Channie leaned out the window and sure enough, Savvy