Runes #03 - Grimnirs (25 page)

He scowled. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you think I wouldn’t do it. I would. I mean, I will.”

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. I wanted to wrap myself around him, kiss him, and love him, and never let go. He might have done terrible things in the past, or what others perceived as terrible, but I was behind him one hundred percent. If I were in his shoes, I would have rescued my Druid sisters and brothers.

“I believe you’d do the right thing,” I said.

“Damn straight. Right by me because if I get a chance to take him and let him go, his mother would lock me up with the souls of the worst criminals until Ragnarok. I’m not willing to go through that for him.” He twirled a lock of my hair around his finger. “Go. If you have any more questions, ask me later. I’ll see you tonight.”

When he let go of my hair, I did something so bold I shocked myself. I leaned forward, gently cupped his cheek, and pressed my lips to his in a whisper of a kiss.

He froze.

I rubbed my lips across his, loving the tingling sparks the contact generated and hoping he’d kiss me back. He didn’t pull back, but neither did he kiss me back. In fact, I think he held his breath, his body stiff. I could make him want me. Make him kiss me, but it wouldn’t be the same.

I sat back and looked into his eyes, hoping he saw that I believed in him. That I wanted him. That I loved him. Nothing he said or did would ever stop me from wanting and loving him.

If I had taken an artavus and stabbed him in the chest, he wouldn’t have looked more tortured. He lifted his hands as though to grab me, stopped, and balled his hands.

“Please,” he whispered.

I wasn’t sure whether the plea was for me to leave or love him. I’d like to think it was the second one. Smiling, I stepped out of the car.

13.
 
Brokenhearted

“Someone seems pleased with herself,” Raine said when I entered her room.

“I am. Sort of. I’m optimistic about… lots of things.” Echo. I plopped on her bed, put my hands behind my head, and grinned at the ceiling. “Thanks for not coming with us. By the way, you are still a sucky liar. I knew your mom didn’t really need you.”

She made a face. “So you two ‘talked’? I noticed the steaming windows.”

I grinned. Oh, I wanted to steam windows with that reaper, but it was going to take some maneuvering. “We just talked. Nothing delicious or naughty.”

“You two going to date?”

“No.”

She joined me, lying on her stomach. “Then what’s with the Chesire Cat grin?”

I propped myself on my elbows, not wanting to jinx things between Echo and me by talking about my hopes. “We are going to be friends.”

“Friends? With benefits?”

I laughed. Raine Cooper of six months ago would not have said that. “You have a dirty mind. Are you and Torin reaping the benefits of being perfectly matched?”

She blushed. “We’re not discussing me.”

“Then I’m not discussing Echo. I saw Blaine Chapman at Kip’s, and he had the nerve to say he’s come back to lead the Trojans to state.”

Raine made a face. “He’s kind of right. Torin called his family a few days ago and talked to his dad. Immortals are supposed to be Valkyries’ support team. Remember I told you Andris, Maliina, and Ingrid stayed with his family when they first got here?”

I nodded.

“That’s because they are Immortal. Torin knew things were about to get complicated as soon as Echo appeared interested in you. Protecting you became more important than playing ball.”

Okay. My opinion of Torin just went up several notches. “He’s something else.”

She grinned. “Dedicated is more like it. Valkyrie business always comes first.”

“Even ahead of your well-being?” I teased.

Her cheeks grew red again, but she didn’t need to respond. I’d seen them together. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. “Blaine seemed angry when we spoke. He said we needed to talk.”

“He and Andris almost destroyed the viewing when he came to Casey’s funeral. He blamed Andris and Torin for not warning him.” She grimaced. “As if they know for sure who’s going to die before it happens. The lists they are given changes every second, so they’re never sure who is going to die and who isn’t. Anyway, enough talking about Blaine. How did it go with the Burgesses?”

I scooted to the edge of the bed. “Let’s talk on the way to my place.”

We stopped by the den and both parents looked up when she opened the door. Her father looked a lot better. His color was back, and he was sitting up, playing a game of chess with Raine’s mother.

“Hi, Cora,” Mrs. C said when she saw me.

I waved, but stayed by the door.

“How are things, Cora?” Mr. C added.

“Good.” I wasn’t sure whether Raine had told him about my first possession. I’d forgotten to warn her not to. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better. Are you two going out?”

Raine kissed his forehead. “To Cora’s. Do you want me to pick up dinner?”

Her parents exchanged a glance and smiles.

“No, we are going to cook tonight,” her mother said.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Dad just—”

“I know,” her mother said. “He’ll sit and tell me what to do. Have some fun.” Her mother practically threw us out of the den.

Raine was still frowning when we drove off. I headed toward town. “You think your dad is not ready to be up and about?”

“I think Mom is worried. If he’s not back on his feet, he can’t go to Valhalla. The sick go to Hel. There’s no way around it. Worse, Mom might leave at any moment. She’s been summoned to appear before the Council and Forseti.”

“Who’s that?”
                                                               

“The God of Justice. Sometimes I think prolonging Dad’s life is some sort of punishment for what we did.”

That sounded too close to what Echo had said. Then, I’d thought he was just making up excuses. “You mean your mother trading her Norn wand for your dad?”

Raine smiled. “Nah, sparing Dad’s life. It was supposed to be temporary. You know, so we could say our goodbyes, but now…” She sighed. “I feel like the Norns are prolonging his suffering to punish us. When he flat lined, Mom said his soul didn’t leave his body. Usually the soul leaves the body and hangs around, waiting to be reaped, or takes off, like the souls you see. But she didn’t see his. It is trapped. I just know it.” Her hands were clenched, and her voice had risen. “As long as it doesn’t leave his body, he’ll not die. He’ll continue to suffer.”

I reached for her hand and squeezed. “No, Raine. I did.”

She looked at me. “You did what?”

“I saw your father last week at the cafeteria. He tried to talk to me. We hadn’t discussed everything, so I couldn’t tell you. His soul appeared to me, Raine.”

A frown creased her forehead. “Why you?”

“I didn’t know, but remember when he wanted to see me? He told me he was in total darkness when he saw me. Or rather, he saw the glowing runes Maliina had etched on me, followed them, and found me. That’s why he wanted to talk to me when he came back from the hospital.”

“That’s why he asked you to try to show compassion to the souls.”

I nodded. “He said it was dark and scary until he saw my runes. Maybe you are right to believe he was trapped somewhere. Wherever it was, he saw me.” I pulled up outside a grocery store.

“We should tell Torin and Lavania. They might have an explanation.” She peered at the store. “What are we doing here?”

“We need snacks, and you know my mother.” I got out of the car, and Raine followed. My mother hated processed foods.

“I like her pies,” Raine said.

“So do I, but I eat them all the time, so if I need foods smothered in sugar and fried in saturated fat, I sneak them into my room.”

“She always knows,” Raine said.

True. I giggled. Mom’s sighs and head shakes whenever she found soda cans and empty Twizzler or potato chips packets in my room didn’t bother me. Dad had a thing for chocolates too, so I wasn’t the only one who got in trouble.

I snatched a basket when we entered the store. The cashier who’d served us the last time Mom and I were in the store smiled when our eyes met. He didn’t have the female soul stroking his hair anymore. I wondered what she’d wanted to tell him. Had I let her possess me, I would have known.

I entered the aisle with snacks, grabbed a couple of bars of chocolate for Dad, and then stopped as an idea popped into my head. Raine bumped into me.

“What is it?” She peered at my face then along the aisle. “You see some? Souls?” she asked in a whisper. I’d told her about my first meeting with Echo.

“No.” As though my denial had conjured one, a soul of a buff man in a muscle shirt and cargo pants appeared at the end of the aisle. He stared at me strangely. A female in her mid-twenties walked through the shelf on my left. “Scratch that. Two of them are here.”

“Do you want to leave?” Raine said, her voice rising.

“No. I came for Twizzlers and Baked Lays, and I intend to get some.” I started forward, my heart pounding. The souls moved closer. I picked up a large bag of Twizzlers, dropped it in the basket, and kept walking. “Besides, I’ve decided to help them.”

“What?”

“I’m going to let souls possess me. I helped the Burgesses, Raine. On Monday, Victoria is going to the bank. So I figure, why not help others?”

“Now?”

I chuckled at the panicked pitch in her voice.

“No. But I need to practice so I can learn to deal with the eek factor.”

“Then we’re going to need Echo or Torin to order them out of you. I’m still working on my incantations and can’t do an exorcism.”

“I know.” Trying to stay calm, I looked into the eyes of the woman. She was yapping, and I was still soul-deaf. “I will come back and help you,” I said, speaking slowly, looking directly into her eyes.

She stopped talking and tilted her head.

“I promise to come back and help you,” I added.

She turned and disappeared. The buff guy had stopped walking and talking, too. “I will help you, too. Later. I promise.”

He shuffled away backwards. I released a sharp breath and glanced at Raine. She was staring at me with wide eyes, while chewing on her lower lip. Behind her stood Echo. He winked, and then he disappeared.

Raine glanced over her shoulder. “Are they behind me?”

“No. They’re gone. Echo was behind you.”

“Oh. Yeah, I felt his presence when we left the house.”

“Really?” I was a bit disappointed she’d felt his presence. I wasn’t one of them, yet I always knew when Echo was around. I’d thought it made us special.

“It’s nothing special,” Raine continued. “We have this ability to sense the essence of the others like us. It’s stronger when you are linked to that person, but it’s there, so I’ll know if a Grimnir is nearby.”

Okay, not so bad. Stronger when linked. Was I linked to Echo? “Linked how?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain. Ask Echo about it. About the souls, I think you are crazy to want to help them.”

“I know. I’m learning to live a little. Come on, worrywart. The salty snacks are in the next aisle.” I looped my arm through hers and laughed. “You’ve battled the most powerful beings in the world and you are freaking out over souls?”

“You didn’t see how you reacted to the possession, smarty pants. You’d be freaking out, too. Besides, you know what they say about fear of the unknown. Until I actually see a soul, I have the right to be wary and scared.”

“Some Valkyrie you’re going to make.”

“Shut up.”

I paid for the snacks and a liter bottle of root beer. Then we headed to the car.

***

Dad was in the zone and didn’t look up when we entered the house. Mom wasn’t in the kitchen, which meant she was finishing her chores in the barn. We grabbed cups and disappeared upstairs.

“I haven’t been here in weeks,” Raine said.

“Don’t remind me. What did you two do when you visited?”

Rained shrugged. “Painted my nails. She blow-dried her hair.”

I glared at her. “And that wasn’t a clue enough for you that you were dealing with a psycho bitch?”

“Cora Jemison!” Mom snapped from the doorway. “Watch your mouth. Raine.” She walked to where Raine sat near my desk and gave her a hug. “How are you doing?”

“Good, Mrs. Jemison.”

“Your dad?”

Raine shrugged. “Better than last week. He’s planning on making dinner tonight.”

Mom smiled. “That’s wonderful. It’s nice to see you two girls back together. What are you up to tonight? I’m making chili for dinner.”

“Raine is going to help me with homework, Mom.”

Mom blinked and cocked her eyebrows. “On a Saturday night? That’s nice.” Her eyes went to the bags of snacks on the bed, and she shook her head. “Make sure you leave room for my chili, girls.”

“Okay.” I walked to the door and held it. “Bye, Mom.”

She chuckled and touched my cheek as she walked out. I closed the door. “We should do something tonight.”

Raine scowled. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Uh, one word. Grimnirs.”

I walked toward the bed. “So I’m supposed to stop living because they’re after me?”

“It’s called lying low. What are we starting with?” she asked as though the subject was closed.

“Chips.” I threw her a bag.

She snatched it. “I meant what subject.”

For an hour, we worked on one subject after another. Raine started to read my English paper and made a face. I snatched it from her. “I’m still working on it.”

She grinned. “Good. Because it’s—”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear how bad it is. I know it needs a rewrite.”

“Or two,” she added.

I stuck out my tongue. I’d missed her.

The ringtone of my cell phone went off, and I dove for my jacket. I pulled my cell from the pocket and saw the number. Unknown. Frowning, I bought it to my ear.

“Yes?” I said slowly.

“Cora, it’s Blaine.”

I glanced at Raine and mouthed, “Blaine,” then spoke into the phone. “Hey, Blaine. What’s going on?”

“Are you busy?”

I made a face. “Uh, not really. We are hanging out at home.”

“We?”

“Raine’s here.”

There was silence. “Why don’t I pick you two up, say, in an hour? A bunch of us are going to check out that new club, Xanavoo. We need to talk. It’s important.”

“Just a second.” My watch said it was a quarter to seven. I pressed the phone to my chest. “We are going out, Raine.”

She scribbled on a notepad and showed me what she’d written. “NO!!!”