Excerpt:
The sound of male voices drew
her attention to the park next door. She couldn’t understand what they were
saying, but they sounded friendly enough. Hmm… Her new power name, her curse, was designed with one purpose
in mind, so to activate it—she needed a dirty-minded boy.
Channie tossed her blanket
back in her room then scampered down the fake, but convenient, rocks on the
front of the house. She followed the crushed gravel path that led from her
front yard into Heritage Park.
The three-quarter moon peeked
out from behind a cloud and revealed two masculine silhouettes. The boys were
inside the pavilion, sitting on top of a picnic table. One of them was smoking
a cigarette. When Channie stepped out of the shadows, he elbowed the other boy.
They both stopped talking and stared at her.
She froze, unsure of how to
proceed without Enchantment’s natural charm.
A prickly sensation, like
cockleburs, ran under Channie’s skin. She didn’t need magic to read the boy’s
energy fields—curiosity mixed with a fair amount of lust—nothing unusual about
that.
Channie had assumed that her
new power name would repel boys, or make them repulsive to her. Instead,
Chastity’s magic was attracted to their lustful energy and grew stronger as it
fed off their carnal desires. Momma and Daddy must have messed up the spell
when they changed her name.
Channie coughed and fanned the
air, frowning at Cigarette Boy. He tossed the nasty thing onto the ground and
snuffed it out with the toe of his canvas shoe.
The skinny, non-smoking boy
leaned forward and smiled at her. “I haven’t seen you around here before. Are
you new?”
Channie licked her dry lips
and nodded. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t shy. Or was she? She didn’t
know who she was without Enchantment’s magic.
Cigarette Boy ran his gaze up
and down her body. The level of lust in the air doubled and flowed into
Chastity’s power-well, awakening its potential.
He smirked at her. “What’s the
matter, can’t you talk?”
Channie started to take a step
back, but didn’t want him to think she was easily intimidated. She straightened
her spine and held her ground. “I can talk just fine. When I have something to
say.”
Cigarette Boy elbowed his
friend in the ribs. “Dude, did you hear that accent?” He hugged his chest,
copying Channie, and pitched his voice up high to mock her. “Aw kin tawk juz
fiiiine whin ah have sumthin’ to say.”
“Jeeze, Eric. You’re such an
ass.” The skinny boy shoved Eric’s shoulder then looked at Channie and smiled.
“I apologize for this idiot. He has no social skills whatsoever. That’s why we
only let him out at night.”
“It’s okay. I can handle it.
But thanks.” Channie pulled a small amount of Chastity’s power to the surface
and tried to send the obnoxious Eric away using persuasive magic instead of an
actual spell. Nothing happened.
