Immortals (Runes book 2) (2 page)

Silence hung heavily between us as we crossed Riverside Boulevard, the street running in front of our school. I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes and caught him studying me. I wasn’t sure what I saw in his eyes. Pity? I hated to be pitied.

“Actually, I thought you were someone else,” the lie rolled off my tongue with such ease I wondered why I hadn’t started with it.

Torin stopped walking, forcing me to stop, too. His brow shot up. “You mistook me for someone else?”

The outrage in his voice made me grin. “Yep, my ex.”

“Your ex-boyfriend looks like me?” Torin was no longer smiling.

 
“No,
you
look like
him
. Black hair, blue eyes, even the bike. You could be his doppelganger.”

“Doppelganger?” He said it like I’d just called him a troll. His eyes narrowed, and then that sexy grin I loved curled his sculptured lips. “Nice try. No one looks like me, Raine. The world couldn’t handle two of me.”

His arrogance was rearing its ugly head, but I didn’t care. He’d called me by my nickname. Soon, he’d remember he always called me Freckles, a special nickname he’d coined because of the freckles on my nose.

“What’s his name?” he asked.

“What’s whose name?”

“Your ex-boyfriend.”

“Blue Eyes,” I said and grinned. I had called him Blue Eyes when we first met. Surely, he’d remember.

Torin snickered. “What kind of a stupid name is that?”

“Hey, no disrespecting the nickname. He had dazzling eyes.” Torin frowned while I warmed up to the subject. Maybe I could make him jealous. “They were like blue sapphire. He had gorgeous hair, too—darker than yours, and his smile…” I fanned myself. “Sexiest
evah
. You know what the best part was?”

“Not interested,” he grumbled.

Was that annoyance in his voice? “He was completely crazy about me.”

“What happened?” he asked, his voice hard to describe.

I glanced at him and caught him scowling. “What do you mean?”

“You keep talking about him in past tense. Did he leave you?”

I stopped. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like making him jealous anymore. Instead, anger washed over me, even though I had no idea who I was angry with—the Norns for erasing his memories, him for not even remembering the special name he’d given me, or me for not having a decent plan and feeling helpless. I hated feeling helpless.

“He. Didn’t. Leave. Me,” I ground out. “He was taken from me,” I finished in a shaky whisper then turned and hurried into the school building.

I didn’t notice the stares until I was by the lockers. People whispered behind their hands and threw me furtive glances. Others watched me with wide eyes or flashed uneasy smiles when our gazes met. The words “witch” and “crazy” reached me several times. Part of me cringed, wanting to run and hide. Another part had me returning stares. I’d saved lives during that stupid meet. Didn’t that count for anything?

Morgan, a girl I knew from my physics class, shuffled backwards as though I was a giant zit. Another girl grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled her away, whispering something in her ear. One by one, they created space between us, until I was an island surrounded by gawking students.

“Raine!” Cora pushed through the gathering crowd, hazel eyes filled with mischief. “Look at you. That tan is fantabulous. I hope it rubs off.” She brushed her arm against mine.

I laughed, momentarily forgetting the gawkers. I’d missed her crazy humor. “You’re silly.”

“You should have shared the love and brought home some Hawaiian sun and hot cabana guys.” She enveloped me in a big hug. “Smile. Ignore them. They’re losers,” she whispered in my ear.

Before I’d left, she couldn’t look me in the eye. Surprised and happy she wasn’t scared of me anymore, I hugged her back.

“Ooh, watch the ribs,” she said. I released her, and she leaned back. “When did you get back?”

“Last night.”

She glowered. “And you didn’t text me?”

“It was late.”

“Like that’s ever stopped you. Don’t they have cell phone reception on these cruises? Don’t answer that. You were busy with the cabana boy. I want to hear everything.” She threw her things in the locker, removed her folder and some textbooks, and bumped me with her shoulder. “Come on. Start talking.”

The crowd parted to let us pass, but the stares and the whispers followed us. In the hallway, students saw us coming and pressed against the walls as though I was a disease-ridden sub-human. Their attitude hurt.

“What cabana boy?” I asked.

“The one I told everyone swept you off your feet whenever they asked if I’d heard from you.
When is Raine coming back? Did she change schools? Is it true she’s in a psych ward? Is she a witch?
Gah! People can be such tools. They made up stories, and the longer you were gone the more outrageous they became.” Cora glared at a group of girls and asked, “What are you looking at?”

They flinched.

“Everyone knows what happened,” I whispered.

“Yeah, I know. We told them your head injuries gave you psychic abilities. Watch this,” she said, squeezing my hand. She paused by two girls, one of whom I recognized from my math class. “Want to know your future?”

The girl shook her head so hard I thought it would snap. I was mortified. “Cora—”

“Want to know if your boyfriend is the one?” she asked the second girl and grinned when the girl nodded. Cora was having way too much fun with this.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her away. “Stop it. I don’t have the power of premonition. It was a one-time thing.”

“You don’t know that.” She looped her arm around mine. “Okay, so I was totally spooked at first, but I reached a conclusion while you were gone. You are a hero, Raine. If you hadn’t jumped into the pool and yelled at everyone to get out, more people would have died.” She paused by a group of football players. “Hey, if you want to win on Friday, change the way you’ve been playing, Jaden.”

Jaden Granger grinned. “Is that true, Raine?”

I looked down, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me. This was awful.

“Get behind the new QB, or you’re so going to lose,” Cora answered with a toss of her glorious blonde hair.

I shook my head. “We have a new quarterback?”

“Oh yeah. He’s smoking hot, too, but the guys have been giving him a hard time during practice. Anyway, if you get another premonition, let me know.”

I sighed, wishing I could tell her the truth. But where would I begin? Even I hadn’t believed Valkyries and Norse deities were real, or that they moved freely between their world and ours, until I met Torin. Nothing had prepared me for the way he’d used runes to heal wounds, acquire superhuman strength, become invisible, or make portals appear and disappear on walls and mirrors. Maybe pretending I had psychic abilities after my accident was the only solution to this nightmare.

“Have you seen Eirik?” I asked.

The smile disappeared from Cora’s face. “A few minutes ago. I left him with this group of new exchange students his parents are sponsoring. One of them is the QB. He’s pure hotness.” Cora fanned her face. “I’m talking about leather jacket, a Harley, sexy eyes. He doesn’t say much, but he’s a chick magnet. If I wasn’t crushing on someone else, I’d go for him in a big, big… Oh, there they are.”

I followed the direction of her gaze. Eirik stood at the end of the hallway with Torin, Andris, Ingrid, and a gorgeous dark-haired girl in a trendy dark gray sweater dress, matching tights, and black knee-length boots. From the way her arm was linked with Ingrid and Andris, I’d say she was a Valkyrie. Her hair was held back in a high ponytail like a dancer. When she kissed Andris on the cheek and reached for Torin’s arm, I wanted to march over there and yank her arm away.

2.
     
THE GIRLS ARE BACK

“Who’s that?” I whispered.

“Lavania something-or-other. A long foreign name,” Cora explained. “She’s gorgeous, funny, and guys bend over backwards to please her. Makes you want to hate her, but you can’t. No one can.” Cora sighed.

“Why not?”

“She’s super nice and sweet.”

So that was my trainer? What was her relationship with Torin? I hated her already. Hated the way she leaned against Torin’s arm. Hated that she could touch him while I couldn’t. It hurt to see him with someone else.

As though he felt my eyes on him, Torin turned his head, looked over his shoulder, and met my gaze. I held my breath. Waited to see what he’d do. He cocked his brow.

My face warm, I focused on Cora. If she’d noticed the look we shared, she didn’t say anything. Thank goodness her memories of the Valkyries were wiped too or she’d remember how Torin often stared at me.

“So, who’s your secret crush, Cora Jemison?”

“Uh, there’s a reason it’s called a secret, nosey. Back to Lavania. She’s invites us to their house every time our paths cross, but Eirik always says we have plans. I have a feeling he doesn’t like her.”

From Cora’s voice, she loved it. I wondered if she and Eirik had hooked up while I was gone. I hoped so. They would be great together. We stopped by the door of my math classroom. Torin still watched us. Lavania followed his gaze, smiled, and waved. Cora waved back. Eirik’s back was to us, but he, too, turned to see what the others were looking at.

He grinned. I frowned when the girl, Lavania, did something strange. She tilted her head toward Eirik. In a different setting, I’d say she’d just bowed. Or maybe it was my imagination.

“Do you want to meet her?” Cora asked.

Heck no!
“No, thanks.”

“She’s really nice. The superhot guy with black hair is the new QB. His name is Torin St. James.”

Torin’s presence on the team meant some football player was about to get a one-way ticket to Valhalla. Somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to care. I had my own demons to deal with. “What happened to Blaine Chapman?”

“His family suddenly moved. Totally weird.” Cora shrugged, her focus shifting to the Torin’s group. “The silver-haired guy is Andris. I think he’s gay or something because even the hottest cheerleaders don’t interest him. The blonde is a cheerleader. Her name is Ingrid.”

Andris gay? Very unlikely. He was probably pining for his ex-girlfriend, Maliina, who’d gone rogue and joined evil Norns after she nearly killed me. Good riddance. I didn’t hear the rest of Cora’s words, my focus shifting to Eirik.

He strolled toward us, intelligent amber eyes twinkling. He looked different, his face more chiseled. It was as though he’d undergone some kind of transformation while I was gone. His usually long dirty blond locks were gone. Shorter hair surprisingly suited him.

Eirik and I went way back to when we were kids and played in our joining backyards. He was my best friend and knew me better than anyone.

“I love your new cut,” I said in greeting, reaching up to run my fingers through his hair.

“I love your tan, stranger,” he quipped. We hugged. “We thought you’d only be gone for a week.”

“Blame my mother.” I’d forgotten how comforting his hugs were. Suddenly, I was back to the place I’d been during summer, needing him. Eirik had always been there for me. When my dad’s airplane went down and we thought he’d died, Eirik was the first one I’d told. When I started learning about Valkyries and my connection to them, I’d leaned on him to keep sane. Even when Torin disappeared and I thought I’d never seen him again, I’d turned to Eirik for comfort, even though he hadn’t known about my feelings for Torin.

“Hey, you’re crushing my ribs,” he teased.

“I missed you guys.” I stepped back and grinned sheepishly.

“Oh, that explains the endless phone calls and texts,” he teased. “Don’t they have reception on those boats?”

Cora laughed. “I asked her the same thing. Gotta go. See you two later.” She hugged me again then briefly squeezed Eirik’s hand, their fingers lingering. Eirik noticed my gaze on their hands and flushed, but Cora was already racing back toward the stairs. Maybe I didn’t have to play Cupid after all.

“We need to talk,” Eirik said, drawing my attention back to him.

“Yes, we do.” We never officially ended our attempt at being boyfriend and girlfriend. It was time for me to bow out. He and Cora would be great together. “After school?”

“I’ll stop by tonight.” He threw me another grin.

I waved, turned and looked toward the end of the hallway where I’d last seen Torin and Lavania, but they were gone. In fact, the hallway was empty. I entered my classroom.

“It’s nice to have you back, Ms. Cooper,” Mrs. Bates, my math teacher said, eying me with narrowed eyes from above the rim of her glasses. “I’m sure you haven’t forgotten I can’t stand tardiness in my class.”

“I didn’t forget, Mrs. Bates,” I said.

“Good. We have two new students, so use any empty desk.”

Lavania smiled at me from my old position at the front of the class. I gave her a tiny smile. An empty desk was by Torin’s. Our eyes met. He studied me as though I was a new species he couldn’t figure out.

“Don’t keep the class waiting, Ms. Cooper. Please, take your seat.”

Exhaling, I made my way to the back of the class. Students turned and stared. The ones near my desk leaned away as though to put as much distance between them and me as humanly possible. My face red, I slid behind my desk and pulled out my textbook. I had no idea how much I had missed, but I was sure it was a lot.

“Oh, see me after class, Ms. Cooper. I have a folder with missed assignments and a breakdown of the concepts we covered while you were gone. If you need help, I’ll be available in my office this week after school. When you’re ready, I have several quizzes you missed.”

No Saturday classes? Yes! I glanced at Torin from the corner of my eye and found him still watching me. How could he not remember being in this class with me?

He pointed at his eyes with two fingers then at the teacher. Face warming up again, I stared ahead.

At the end of the class, I was collecting my things when a soft scent of lavender reached my nose, and I looked up. Lavania stood beside my desk. She was even more beautiful up close, her porcelain skin flawless, her lips lush, and her gray eyes wide like a doe’s. How could any guy resist her?

“I’m Lavania Celestina Ravilla, but you can call me Lavania,” she said, her voice soft and melodic, her smile genuine and sweet. But I wasn’t fooled. She was a Valkyrie, which meant she could move like the wind and flatten a car with a punch.

“Lorraine Cooper, but everyone calls me Raine.” I glanced at Torin to see his reaction. His expression was unreadable.

Lavania grinned. “So you are the Mortal everyone is talking about here and there.”

“There?” I asked.

“Rain with an E,” Torin murmured.

My head whipped toward him, and I, momentarily, forgot about my conversation with Lavania. “You remembered.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Remember what?”

“The day we met.”

He gave me a look that said he thought I had a few loose screws. “Of course. You ran out of your house when I pulled up and k—”

“Never mind.”

“Of course, you two already met,” Lavania said and chuckled. “And we’re neighbors.” She said it as though it explained something.

Torin’s face grew red, which was intriguing. He wasn’t the blushing type. Still, I hated that they shared a secret, even if it had something to do with my house. “Ah, excuse me. My next class is in the south wing and—”

“So is ours. We’ll walk with you.” Lavania slipped her arm through mine, effectively stopping me from leaving. Until I knew the nature of her relationship with Torin, she would stay on my hate-list. “Since you’re my protégé, we should be friends,” she continued. “Stop by the house for a chat this evening. We can get to know each other.”

I wasn’t ready to be chummy yet. “Maybe some other time. I’m going to be busy catching up on homework this week.”

“But I insist.” She pouted, as though not used to being refused, and touched Torin’s arm. “Tell her how we’d love to have her over. You can help her with her homework.” She grinned. “Torin aces everything. Or he would if he paid more attention in class. He’s been distracted since we got here though. Do get her packet from the teacher, sweetheart,” she added.

I didn’t realize she had called Torin sweetheart until he took the folder with my homework from Mrs. Bates. Images of the two of them together flashed through my head, and an ache started in my chest. They were more than friends. I just knew it.

“I have to go.” I firmly removed Lavania’s arm from mine and took the math packet from Torin. “Thanks.”

“Come by later this evening, Raine,” Lavania called out.

Needing space between us, I didn’t answer her. I shouldn’t have bothered running because they were in my next class. Torin carried her books, and they even sat side by side. I told myself I would not look at them, but my eyes kept straying. Each time their eyes would be on me. I understood Torin’s fascination. He loved me. He might have forgotten me, but the feelings were there. They had to be.
Please, let him remember our time together before Lavania completely turns his head.
Most of the guys in class couldn’t seem to take their eyes off her.

How old was she anyway? Did Valkyries even age? Torin was turned over eight hundred years ago. He’d been nineteen at the time. Looking at him now, he still looked like any teenager. Lavania did too, although she was more confident and sophisticated than any girl around my age.

***

Eirik waved from the doorway when class ended. I collected the folder of homework I’d missed and was headed toward the door when Lavania called my name. I pretended not to hear her.

“What does
she
want?” Eirik asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I came by after your first period, but you two were busy talking in the back.”

He sounded annoyed. I shrugged. “She invited me to their place for a neighborly get-together.”

Eirik frowned. “Are you going?”

“Nope. Don’t have the time. Every teacher is giving me a folder or packet of missed assignments and reading material. I’m going to be too busy playing catch up to have a social life. Is she always so pushy?”

“And she does it with a smile, which is very annoying.”

I took his arm and pretended not to notice the other students treating me like I was a freak show. “You know you don’t have to escort me to my classes.”

“I don’t mind.” He glared at a group of students as we walked past them. “Idiots. Cora said they’re being total douches.”

I bumped him with my shoulder. “So you decided to be my guardian angel?”

“Part-time guardian angel. Cora will take over after third period.”

I laughed, but was touched. My friends rocked. “You two are crazy.”

“Has anyone said anything to you yet?”

“No. They just gawk. Nothing I can’t handle. They’ll lose interest in a day or two.”

“I hope so, or I’m going to break someone’s nose. If anyone does or says anything, tell me.” From his expression, he would defend me, which was big. Eirik was the most non-confrontational guy I knew. He had a temper, but tended to withdraw before he snapped and threw things around. I’d seen him vent countless times. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“That’s nice, but I can take care of myself. Besides, I don’t want you going against your pacifist beliefs.”

“Whoever said I was a pacifist is an idiot,” he retorted.

“That would be… you.” I eased my arm from his hand. “See you at lunch.”

He reached down to kiss me. I wasn’t sure whether he meant to kiss me on the lips or not, but I turned my head and gave him my cheek just as Torin appeared at the end of the hallway. He stared at us curiously. He’d always hated it when Eirik and I kissed. Would a kiss jog his memories? Even as the thought crossed my head, I knew I couldn’t do it. I was done using my friend as a crutch. Besides, kissing Eirik would mess up things between him and Cora.