Runes #03 - Grimnirs (20 page)

“Went crazy,” I finished, not bothered by my stint at the psych house anymore. “I can see why slow is good. Cerebrum overload is a bitch.”

“So what does he look like?” She continued to squint at the soul.

“Old. Graying hair. Potbelly. Wrinkled suit. Andris said it’s cheap.”

“Andris is a fashion snob. What is he doing now?”

“Talking. I still can’t hear the souls.” I peered ahead, trying to find the perfect spot to park. I passed business offices and restaurants. All their parking lots were packed with cars. “I need to park somewhere private. Somewhere no one can see us.”

“First Presbyterian Church.”

First PC was by our school. “That’s way back there.”

“Make a U-turn. It’s secluded, and the parking lot is empty.”

And it didn’t have a cemetery, so no more souls. I made a U-turned and headed back toward school. I studied the soul through the rearview mirror. He seemed harmless. Just an old dead guy.

“Are you going to disperse him?” Raine asked.

I would if Echo would appear to lecture me about messing with his charges. Unfortunately, Torin’s words kept ringing in my head. Then there was Mr. C’s advice. I never thought there’d come a day I’d want to be nice to a soul.

“I’m going to show compassion,” I said.

Raine frowned. “What?”

“Crazy, right? But someone I respect told me I needed to change my methods of dealing with them.”

“Echo?”

“Your father.”

“Is that why he called you to the den on Saturday?”

I chuckled at her incredulous tone. I wasn’t planning on telling her about seeing her father in the cafeteria after he’d died. “Yes. He said I should embrace my gift.”

Some gift. More like a curse. I still couldn’t see me embracing it.

I signaled, entered the empty church parking lot, and parked. Blowing out air, I opened the door, stepped out, and waited. The soul followed. Raine opened her door and peered at me from across the hood. Since I was facing the car, if anyone saw me, they’d assume I was talking to her. Heart pounding, I smiled.

 
“Okay, mister. Tell me what you want,” I said, going for calm and confident. Yeah, like I knew what I was doing. This was crazy.

His mouth opened and closed without making a sound.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t hear you.”

He gestured wildly with his hands, his lips moving fast.

I sighed. “This is ridiculous. I can’t hear a thing or read lips.”

“New souls are like newborns,” Raine whispered. “They don’t know how to express their thoughts or emotions properly. Most of the time, the Valkyries do all the talking and the souls do the following. Valhalla is like any military. They train, eat, and sleep… train, eat, and sleep. Same routine without deviation. No time to think for themselves. The souls left behind often find something familiar and become attached to it.”

No wonder they were attached to buildings and family members. “Or walk around aimlessly as though lost. Okay, I’m going to try again. Listen, sir. I.” I touched my chest. “Help.” I pointed at him. “You.”

He stopped talking, titled his head to the side, and pointed at his chest then me.

“We’re getting somewhere. Yes. I will help you. Tell me what you want.”

He pointed at his chest again then me.

I grinned. “Yes.”

He moved so fast I didn’t realize his intention until our bodies melded. The cold was bone-chilling and smothering. My skin felt clammy and tight. My lungs strained to suck in air, and my sight grew hazy.

“What’s happening, Cora?” Raine screamed.

Her voice echoed as though she was talking through a tunnel. I tried to respond, but I couldn’t open my mouth. I felt light, as though I was floating away. Hands grabbed my arms.

“Cora! Damn it! Talk…”

Raine’s voice faded only to be replaced by another. A man’s voice. The soul’s? Probably. I strained to understand what he was saying. His voice grew loud then faint… loud then faint…

My head hurt, and my chest burned from lack of oxygen. Darkness tried to swallow me, but I fought against it. Fought and fought… until sounds filtered through.

I recognized Andris’ voice then Raine’s and Torin’s. They were arguing.

“Don’t look at me,” Andris snapped. “They wanted to do their female bonding thing and told me to leave.”

“He shouldn’t be here,” Raine whispered.

Who shouldn’t be here? Andris?

“There’s nothing we can do about him now,” Torin said reassuringly.

“That’s right,” a familiar voice said. “You can whine about my presence all you want, but I’m not leaving. Without me, she’d be fighting for her life.”

Echo.

My heart pounding, I opened my eyes. He might have sounded amused, but anger burned in the depth of his golden eyes as he studied me. I grinned.

“And she smiles. What are you doing, doll-face?”

10.
 
Close Encounter

I hated that name. It was probably Maliina’s nickname.

“Checking how comfortable the ground is.” I moved my legs and arms. No broken bones. Raine must have broken my fall. “Very comfy. What are you doing here during the day?”

He squatted beside me, bringing with him raw sensual energy and his tantalizing scent. I wanted to inhale him and soak him in. Then deck him.

“Rescuing you from a soul. Again. Are you okay?” He touched my head.

“Gah, your hand is freezing.” I sat up. “Did you just come back from Hel’s Hall to brag? Or…” I remembered our first meeting. “You knew what they wanted, didn’t you? The first time we met. You knew.”

Echo nodded.

“Does
she
attract souls, too?”

His eyelids dropped. “I don’t know. Our interaction was limited to… other pastimes. Thank you,” he added, studying me through the canopy of his ridiculously long lashes.

“For what?” Reminding him of Maliina and that all they did was have sex? I hated her.

“For warming my hand,” he said softly, a sexy smile tugging the corner of his lips.

My eyes flew to my hands. I had his trapped between mine, instinctively warming it. I let him go, heat rushing to my face.

“What you did today was very dangerous and reckless, doll-face. Do you know what happens to Mortals who are possessed by a soul?” he asked.

“No, but I’m sure you are going to tell me in excruciating details. And please, don’t call me doll-face.”

“Have you watched Poltergeist?” Echo asked.

“Yeah. So?”

“Poltergeist is nothing compared with real possession. You could easily go crazy, hurt yourself, or worse.”

Wasn’t he the bearer of gloom? And since when did I become so easy? I was supposed to be pissed with him. Instead, my heart pounded with excitement, and the urge to throw myself into his arms threatened to overwhelm me.

“If you’re here to lecture me, then leave. I was trying to help a soul find closure. Something I’m sure you wouldn’t understand. And no more watching over me while I sleep either. You rune me again and I’ll make you sorry in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine.” I was being a total bitch now, but I didn’t care.

“Who said it’s your job to give them closure?” he asked, ignoring the last things I’d said.

“Me, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Laughter came from my left. My head whipped toward it, and I caught Andris’ smirk. Even Torin was trying hard not to smile. Raine was the only somber one. She looked shaken.

“Your presence is upsetting Raine.” I got up and walked to her. We hugged. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

 
“He’s not scaring me.
You
did. And you shouldn’t be listening to my…” she glanced at Echo. “He is right. You should never do this again.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“You went into a trance. You know, eyes rolling into the back of your head, body shaking. I barely caught you before you fell. Then you started talking in a strange voice. Finally, you blacked out.”

I frowned. I thought I hadn’t blacked out. “How long was I out?”

“About ten minutes.”

That was long. “And, uh, what happened to the soul?”

“I happened,” Echo said, sounding close.

He must have taken it to Hel’s Hall, which would explain his cold hands. I turned around to face him. “You ordered it out of me?”

Echo nodded. “Lucky for you, I knew his name. He had no business possessing you.”

I frowned, hearing the concern underneath the anger, or maybe I wanted to hear it. “He wanted me to pass a message to someone called Clare Bear. Something about a safety deposit box at Key Bank. The password is her name, Clare Bear.” I walked around him to my car, opened the back door, and reached for my folder. It was already open. Weird. I didn’t recall opening it. I sat in the back seat with my feet on the ground and started writing down the names and numbers.

“What are you doing?” Raine asked.

I looked up to find the four of them staring at me “Writing down what he told me. I hope I remember everything.”

Raine waved a notebook. “You already wrote them down.”

I stared at the notebook in her hand. The exact same number and words I’d just written were scribbled over and over again on a piece of paper. Some were initials. SDB instead of safety deposit box. KB instead of Key Bank. PW instead of password. The handwriting wasn’t mine. “I did that?”

“You demanded in the weirdest voice that I give you a paper and pen. When I did, you wrote this.” She tapped at the page.

After what Maliina did to me, I should be pissed or maybe even leery of someone using me. Instead, I was excited at the possibility of what I might do with my weird ability. I could actually help someone find closure. Maybe this was what Mr. C had meant—find out what they wanted. The soul had given me a message.

“You can never do this again, Cora,” Raine said. “It’s too dangerous.”

Torin nodded. “Too many Mortals have gone insane from possession. For centuries, powerful high priests and priestesses have cleansed the possessed by ordering the soul to leave. They don’t always succeed.”

“But that means you guys can order them out once I joined with them, right?” I gave them a sweeping glance. Torin’s expression was unreadable. Andris smirked while Raine still looked worried. Knowing her, she was probably blaming her father for this fiasco. The soul had blindsided me. Next time, I’d be prepared. “I mean, Valkyries and Grimnirs are crème de la crème of high priests and priestesses.” I slanted Echo a look. He was frowning, yet his people were priestly. “Right?”

“I think you and I should discuss this privately,” he said slowly.

“That’s not going to happen,” Torin said.

Something lethal and deadly flashed in Echo’s eyes, but his gaze didn’t leave mine. “Stay out of my business, Valkyrie,” he warned softly.

“I told you, you are not using her while we are around,” Torin retorted.

“You don’t matter in the grand scheme of thing, St. James. She does.” Echo grinned and gave me a slow perusal. I was wearing my swim team sweatpants and jacket, but from the heat in his eyes, I might as well be sitting there naked. His voice dropped an octave and became husky. “Besides, ‘using’ is such a misunderstood term.”

The timbre of his voice stroked my senses. Even when he pissed me off, I still wanted him. Torin moved to stand beside me like a guard and faced Echo, who was holding the car door. I was still seated in the back seat with my feet on the ground. They were acting ridiculous. Echo would not hurt me. Not physically anyway. And Torin’s antagonistic behavior didn’t make sense.

“I know you, Echo,” Torin said. “You never do anything without a reason.”

“And it’s always for your goddess,” Andris added. “Isn’t that why you are her favorite? The guy she goes to when she wants a job done?”

A spasm crossed Echo’s face as though Andris had hit a nerve, but he recovered fast and smirked. “Hel’s favorite? You have been reading up on me, pretty boy. How flattering.” He finally dragged his eyes from me to Andris and then Torin. “I’ll say it again. Step down, Valkyries. I appreciated the fact that you watched over her while I couldn’t, but I’m back now. This is between Cora and me.”

Torin casually placed his hand on the hood of my car and leaned back as though he had no intention of leaving. He was wearing his football gear, which meant he’d left practice to come here.

“Anything that concerns her concerns us,” Torin said.

I had enough of their performance. It didn’t make sense. “Let me butt in here, boys, since you are about to have another brainless testosterone showdown and I don’t plan to stick around and stop it this time.” I pointed at Torin then Andris. “You two guarded me this week because Echo asked you to and now you’re turning against him because…?”

“He never asked,” Torin said. “He said you were in danger and left.”

I shook my head. “I’m confused. Doesn’t that make him a good guy?”

“No,” Andris and Torin said at the same time. Echo just smirked.

“We didn’t see any Grimnirs while he was gone,” Andris said.

“Maybe I took care of them,” Echo said, sounding indifferent, as though he didn’t care whether they believed him or not.

“Maybe there weren’t any Grimnirs to begin with,” Andris snapped. “Maybe the broken trees and ruined vines near Cora’s home were staged to make her think she was in danger.”

“And you wouldn’t kill one of your own without facing Hel’s wrath,” Torin retorted. “You are here on a job, and it involves her. So I’ll say it again, leave her alone or deal with us.”

If everything they said was true… No, I wasn’t going to start believing everything they said, and I didn’t like the way they were ganging up on Echo.

“Whoa, slow down, guys.” I stepped away from the car and went to stand by Raine who hadn’t spoken since the guys started their little fight. “Thanks for keeping an eye on me, guys. Whether you had to or not, I still appreciate it, but it is not up to you to decide whether I talk to Echo or not.”

Echo smirked.

I glared at him. “You had your chance to explain things, but you walked out on me instead. And every night since then, you had a chance to talk to me, but you slipped me sleeping runes instead, so I’m not ready to listen to anything you have to say. In fact, I don’t know if I trust you enough to believe anything you say now.”

Eyes shadowed, Echo walked to where I stood. He was so close the heat from his body leaped between us and wrapped around me. Part of me wanted to put some distance between us, but another part wanted to grab him and hold him close. Forgive him for his shitty behavior the last week.

He didn’t speak, letting his eyes speak for him. He was sorry, they said.

“You can trust me, Cora. I’d never lie to you.
You
, Cora, not Maliina. She doesn’t matter or mean anything to me. They,” he waved toward Torin and Andris, “don’t matter. You do.” Heat flashed in his eyes. When his eyes moved to my lips, they tingled as though he’d kissed me.

It was time to create some distance between us.

“Don’t ever mention her name to me again.” I shuffled sideways and hurried to my car. When our eyes met, there was pain in his eyes. He had no reason to be hurt. I was the one he’d wronged. “Coming, Raine?”

Raine kissed Torin then ran around to the front passenger seat. I backed out and took off. I could see the guys in the side view mirror. They were still standing where we’d left them. Torin’s Harley and the SUV Andris usually drove to school were parked a few feet away.

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” I asked, my eyes returning to Echo. He was watching us drive away, his expression hard to read.

“Yeah. Andris hates to fight and will stop them if things get out of hand.”

“I don’t understand why Torin dislikes Echo when he did him a favor—uh, never mind.” She might not know about her father’s soul.

“You mean when he chose not to reap my father’s soul?” Raine asked.

“Oh. So you know.”

“Torin doesn’t keep secrets from me. Torin owes Echo a soul, and Echo plans to collect.” She made it sound like Echo was wrong.

“It seems fair to me,” I said defensively. “A soul for a soul.”

“Or he could let it slide. I mean, it’s just statistics to him. I’m happy you told Echo to take a hike. He’s no good for you. Torin and Andris don’t trust him either.”

“I know.”

“He’s an odd ball, you know. A lot of Grimnirs can’t stand him.”

The details of Echo’s story flashed in my head. “Druids,” I muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“I asked Torin why the Grimnirs hate him, but he doesn’t know,” Raine continued. “Chances are the Grimnirs who came after you were out to hurt him. That is assuming the story he told you is true. He was once a Valkyrie, you know, but he did something so horrible they kicked him out of Asgard and placed him on Hel duty—permanently.”

I hated the way she gleefully listed Echo’s faults. “I know about that, Raine.”

“You do?”

I glared at her. “Yes, I do. Echo told me. He doesn’t keep secrets from me. It is the same reason his fellow Grimnirs hate him. He did something noble, and those who disagree with him are idiots.”

Silence filled the car as I entered University Boulevard, the road that ran in the middle of Walkersville University. I glanced at Raine and caught her grin.

“What?” I asked.

“I knew it.” She laughed. “I was wondering how long you were going to let me hate on Echo before you told me to shut up. I watched your reaction when Torin and Andris were ganging up on him and when you were warming his hand. You are so into him.”

“No, I’m not. He’s an arrogant know-it-all, who seems to think he can do whatever he likes and get away with it just because… because he’s hot.”

“And you are so into him,” Raine added.

I sighed. “Am I that obvious?”

“Only to me. So, on a scale of Drew to Eirik, where does he fall?”