Forecast (16 page)

“Your first time?” That surprised me. Grim had said Taran had only had one girlfriend, but I had just assumed he would have hooked up with someone somewhere.

“Right now, I’m kind of hoping that will happen with you.” He kissed me once more. “Someday.”

Chapter Ten

I couldn’t sleep and my frustration over how much I needed to sleep made everything worse. One of the twins let out a short snore, and I grimaced and turned onto my side. Despite the heaters, cold air snaked in from the front windows. If I ever bought my own house, I planned to make sure everything was insulated.

Taran had bedded down between the coffee table and couch, so he lay right below me. I wanted to lean over and stare, but I forced myself to close my eyes and take deep breaths.

Too many things played over and over in my head and I desperately wished Raven and Kat were here because I missed them. It sounded like Raven was having an awful time, and Kat hadn’t answered her phone earlier. I’d left a message letting her know I was okay. I thought of getting up to call her again, but I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving the pitiful warmth of this room. “I feel so alone,” I whispered.

“You’re not.”

I leaned over the couch but couldn’t see Taran’s face in the shadows between the couch and table. “Sorry. Thought everyone was asleep.” I lowered my voice even more. “And I know I have the three of you with me.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

I knew that, too. Josh and Grim might be snoring on the other side of the room, but Taran was with me.
Like really with me
. I stared over the edge of the couch, wishing I could see him. All this was happening fast—crazy fast—and I didn’t understand it. But I really liked him. I sneaked my hand out from under the warm covers and reached for his. He took it, sliding our fingers together. I wouldn’t be able to leave my arm out there long, not with the air in this room more cold than not, but I liked the heat of his fingers, the strength in them.

Taran let go of my hand and I heard rustling noises, saw the edge of his sleeping bag come up. “Come down here,” he whispered.

My belly flipped, and I gulped air into my suddenly still lungs. But I wanted to be down there with him, wanted this soul-deep loneliness to go away.

“We’ll be warmer,” he coaxed, and I could imagine that naughty, enticing grin of his even if I couldn’t see it.

“I know,” I whispered, wondering if he heard me over the winter mix of rain and sleet hitting the roof. Of course he did—he’d heard me whisper before.

“I’ll be good,” he said. “Mostly.”

Nothing could have stopped me from crawling down into the sleeping bag with him then.
What could happen with the other guys in the room?
But still, my heart raced and my hands shook a little because I wasn’t sure what to expect—only that I hoped for more of those feelings he raised in me. That excitement I’d felt in the bedroom. I stretched my legs out along his and sighed when he tucked the sleeping bag more firmly around us both. He pulled me close, his arms wrapped around me and the heat we generated made me close my eyes and sigh. “Definitely warmer.” I murmured the words into his neck and felt him shudder.

He stroked his hand down my hair, sifted his fingers through it. “I love the way this feels on my fingers.” He released a short, sort of barking laugh. “Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.”

I started to pull away from him but his arms tightened.

“I don’t want you to move away.” His hand flattened on my back. “And I didn’t mean to make you feel weird. But uh, just don’t be scared when you feel a few changes going on in my body. Again.”

I groaned in embarrassment, shut my eyes and buried my face in his neck. “Taranis Breen, do you have to say every thought that goes through your mind?”

“Pretty much.” His laughter made his chest rumble. “I wish Josh hadn’t told you my full name.”

“I like it. Means thunder god, did you know?”

“With my mom? Of course. I’m just happy she didn’t pick Thor. She thought I’d get beaten up a lot.” He paused. “There’s some kind of irony in there.”

His hand moved down my back, tucked me even closer against him. I felt his heart beating against my chest.

Taran made this strange grunting, groaning sort of noise. “You feel really good.”

“You do, too,” I whispered, and couldn’t stop myself from kissing his neck.

He went still, and here, cocooned inside the thick, warm sleeping bag with him, I realized I could hear both our hearts beating, in tandem. Loud and fast.

Excitement coursed through every part of my body, and it was all I could do to remember how to breathe.

“Hey,” he whispered.

He was going to kiss me again.

The crunch of a Fun Dip stick hit my ears and I froze.

So did Taran.

“Don’t stop on my account.” Grim’s voice rumbled out of the darkness. “The show was just getting good.”

I knew Grim couldn’t see anything, but I still burrowed farther under the sleeping bag, noting instantly that I probably shouldn’t have squirmed half on top of Taran so much. “Oh gods,” I whispered. “Sorry.”

“Grim, you’re a jerk,” Taran muttered. He reached up, pulled the pillow I’d been using when on the couch and hurled it in Grim’s direction.

When laughter from both brothers sounded, I groaned. “They’re both awake? They were both awake the whole time?”

“Not the whole time,” Josh admitted. “Just for that last part after Grim kicked me awake.”

I’d been so wrapped up in Taran, I hadn’t heard a thing.

“I’d offer to sleep in a different room, but I’m not freezing my butt off so Taran can get lucky.”

“Shut up, Josh.” Taran’s voice held amusement, and he relaxed and tugged me up so he could see my face. “You okay?”

I nodded, chewed on my lip, and his gaze locked there. I couldn’t stop my smile then.

But it faded fast because I was suddenly hit with such panic it twisted up my insides. I scrambled away from Taran, stepping on him, then tripping over the bottom of the sleeping bag. My knees hit the floor hard, but I jumped up and ran into the bedroom to get my cell phone before I remembered it wasn’t working. The phone Josh and Grim had hooked up in the kitchen jangled, and I got to it on the second ring.

“What’s wrong?”

“You were expecting me,” Raven said. It wasn’t a question, but she did sound surprised. I glanced at the clock, which of course wasn’t on without power. I had no idea how late it was.

“I woke up a few minutes ago. Raven, you’re so scared, I can feel it. What’s going on?”

She paused so long, I almost asked again. Finally she spoke, and the fear made me rub the goose bumps on my arms. “I need something to dispel nightmare magic. We’ve tried waking Vanir, shaking him—nothing is working.”

“What’s he doing?” I asked as I hurried to the bookshelves with the spell books. I set down the big flashlight from the garage, then started lighting candles. “Thrashing or crying out? Do you know if he’s in pain?” I shivered, wished I’d wrapped up in a blanket first.

“I don’t know, but yeah, he was thrashing and yelling, but now he’s stopped breathing.”

I slapped open a book, making the rickety table rattle. Taran, Josh and Grim had all shuffled into the kitchen and I waved them over. Covering the phone with my hand, I pointed to one of the open books. “Can one of you look for a spell?” I started to sift through the pages of the book in front of me. “Blue lips?” I asked Raven.

“Yeah. We’re having to breathe for him.”

I covered the phone again and looked at Josh, who’d already turned his book to the glossary. “Look for anything on suffocation.” I tugged down books for Taran and Grim.

“What about drowning?” Grim asked. “There’s something in here about blue lips.”

“Shh, she doesn’t know I have you all here and she’ll want to know why, and she’s got enough going on there.”

“Like we don’t?” Taran lifted an eyebrow.

“Shh,” I said again, but his admonishment came with a sappy smile. I couldn’t help it. My body was still tingling.

“Who’s there?” Raven demanded.

I rolled my eyes. Should have covered the phone better. “People, but listen, your best bet is iron. A knife is fine—”

“An iron knife? Where would I get an iron knife?” She sucked in a breath. “Wait, you want me to cut him?”

“No.” I tilted my head, closed my eyes and tried to remember anything about suffocation spells. “Maybe. If there are trapped spirits...wait, I think just laying the knife on his chest will work.”

“Stop!” she suddenly yelled, and I got the feeling she was talking to someone there. “Hold on a second,” she murmured before her voice got clearer in the phone. “You think spirits are actually trapped inside him?”

“Probably. It sounds like an old seidr trick. All divination witches call on spirits—even us, Raven.”

Josh mouthed the words “Divination witches?” at me while pointing and wiggling his bushy red eyebrows.

I glared at him and pointed to the book. Unfortunately, a violent shiver made me look anything but tough.

Taran frowned, got up and left the room.

“Coral?” Raven’s voice dropped. “Remember that old story about the boy who suffered from nightmares and how his mother placed an iron horseshoe under his pillow?”

I straightened up from the book. “A horseshoe would be great! But who has horseshoes?”

“Coral. I’m in Oklahoma.” The implied
duh
practically dripped from her words.

“Oh yeah. Hey, you can also sprinkle peonies onto the bed—though it’s better to twist them together. Peonies would probably be hard to find in the snow...” I bit my lip, something flirting at the edge of my memories. Taran came back and draped a blanket around my shoulders. I smiled at him, then remembered something. “Wait! What about a dream catcher? But you could really use a couple of wolf guardians.” Hadn’t she said she was in the woods with wolves the night she got there? “Which he has, right? And there’s something else.”

I turned and looked at the shelves, wishing I could remember the right spell. But something else was swirling in my thoughts—an old reference to the time of ravens and wolves.
When they came together to feed on the dead.
Her Vanir couldn’t die. He just couldn’t. “Oh man, why didn’t I think of this? Raven!”

“What?” she yelled, sounding as if she wanted to punch me through the phone.

“No, not you, the actual bird. The wolves and the raven together. Remember the prophecy?” The stranglehold on my throat actually hurt. The ravens here, feeding on the dead. I whispered, “Vargold.”

She was silent so long, I knew she was thinking the same thing. About the animals and the battle-dead. “Ari, get an iron knife or horseshoe, if you have it. Then lay it across his chest.” There were rustling noises. “Coral, I gotta go. I know what to do.”

“But—” I broke off because I could tell she couldn’t hear me anymore. Putting the phone down, I stared at the guys who took up serious space in my tiny kitchen.

Josh still had his nose buried in the spell book. He suddenly paled. “Can I just say thanks for not going with the menstrual blood spells. And did you know if you mix it in boiled salted water and vinegar, you can put it on your thresholds to keep evil away?”

Grim looked horrified.

I reached over and shut the book. “Be cool or I’ll turn you into a newt.”

He grinned. “I’ll get better.”

Taran shut his book. “Sorry we weren’t more help.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. I sort of shoved the books at you all and expected you to know what to do when I’ve been reading these for years and still have to look things up.” My blanket slipped off one shoulder as I started stacking books.

“Yeah, but you weren’t really reading most of the stuff you were telling your sister. A lot of it was straight out of your brain.” Taran stood and settled my blanket back on my shoulder.

“I guess it was,” I murmured. My heart was racing and my palms were sweating. I could still feel her fear and it had me shaking. To try to calm myself, I walked to the sink and picked up the teapot. I filled it with water to take it to the camp stove outside. I didn’t want to be colder, but I had to have tea. It was my crutch. As soon as I stepped outside, I realized I was crazy. I’d thought it chilly inside, but it was nothing like out here. I hurried back. “Should we move one of the heaters into the kitchen?”

Taran shook his head. “Nah, I hope we can all go back and get some sleep. Better to let it stay as warm as possible in there. And I hope that’s going to be decaffeinated tea.”

I nodded and took out a ready-made box of herbal tea. I didn’t feel like mixing my own. “It’s a blend for relaxing. My sister’s nerves are shot.”

“So,
you’re
drinking tea?” Taran leaned against the counter. “Do you and your sisters have the same sensory thing Grim and Josh do?”

I looked at the twins, who smiled at each other before nodding at me. “It’s probably stronger because there are three of you,” Josh said. “Must be a pain. Doofus here broke his arm once and didn’t even know it. I’m the one who cried and ended up in the hospital first. Freaked Mom out.”

“It’s like that for us. I don’t know if it’s stronger, but this is the first time we’ve ever been apart, and I keep feeling them both. I’m feeling Raven the most, but other flashes are coming that could be Kat. . I’m not even sure Kat has found the boy she was looking for. I should call her again.” I pulled down a box of tea. “But I’m going to call Raven back first. Who wants tea?”

Grim shuddered and his brother cracked up. “We’ll just have some water. We can get it ourselves.”

I held up a mug and lifted my eyebrow at Taran.

“Sure. Why not?”

“Dude,” Josh growled. “Mom drinks that brand and the stuff tastes like construction paper.”

Taran chuckled. “What’s interesting about that statement is that you know the taste of construction paper.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Josh looked genuinely surprised.

“The red is awful.” Grim frowned and patted his pockets.

I felt sorry for him when it became obvious he’d run out of Fun Dip packs.

They helped put the books back, and I kept one out so I could keep looking for the spell someone—okay, Mom—was using to get Taran’s hammer. Taran grabbed the hot water from outside, then took his tea mug with a smile and followed the twins back into the living room. I took the time alone to call Raven back.

Expecting to get someone who actually lived in the house Raven was staying in, I jumped when Raven answered. “He’s okay. I figured out what to do.”