Immortals (Runes book 2) (37 page)

“Fine,” I gave in grudgingly.

“Think of it this way. You’re doing this for Eirik, not for you.”

“He’s
not
on my favorite people’s list right now.”

Torin chuckled, leaned down, and rubbed his lips against mine. “You’re adorable when you pout.”

I loved it when he spoke against my lips. His warm breath made my lips tingle. We exchanged a breath before we kissed. “I don’t pout.”

“Yes, you do. I gotta go. I promised to take care of something for Lavania before she goes to bed.”

“Are you coming back?”

“Of course.” He ran a finger along my lower lip then touched my nose. “I love making you happy before you fall asleep.”

I loved it, too. Anticipation coursed through me, my imagination kicking in.

“And listening to you snore afterwards,” he added.

“I don’t snore.” I meant to push his head, but his hair was so soft and inviting. I forked my fingers through it and pushed back the locks falling over his forehead. He turned his head, planted a kiss on my arm, leaned lower, and claimed my lips in a long, hot kiss. Then he was gone, striding across the room. Runes appeared on his skin, and the mirror dissolved into a doorway. He paused, looked back, and smiled. I missed him already.

“Come back soon or I’ll be asleep,” I warned.

“Then I’ll wake you up,” he vowed and disappeared.

***

Torin didn’t need to wake me. I was wide-awake. As usual, I fell asleep surrounded by his warmth and scent, and I woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. The pullout bed was still out, exactly how Eirik had left it. He hadn’t wandered into my bedroom, which meant he’d slept through the night.

Dressed, hair styled, and makeup done, I bounded down the stairs, almost bumping into Dad at the bottom. He was already dressed in his running pants and shirt.

“Careful,” he warned. “You still race down the stairs with little regard for yourself or anyone else.”

“Morning, Dad.” I planted a kiss on his cheek and slipped under his arm. “Don’t want to be late for school.”

“I made oatmeal if you want some.”

I made a face. No matter how often he tried to get me into the habit of eating oatmeal, I still hated the stuff. “No, thanks. Still hate it and will continue to hate it until I die.”

“When you reach my age, you’ll change your mind.” He started upstairs.

“Don’t hold your breath.” I noticed his empty running water bottles on the counter. I put frozen waffles in the toaster and started filling up the bottles. I was eating when he returned downstairs.

“Thanks, pumpkin,” he said when he noticed the filled bottles.

“How far are you going today?”

“I don’t know. Depends on how I’m feeling.” He added electrolyte gels and protein bars in the pouches on the belt. I had worried about him for nothing. He looked ready to conquer miles this morning.

“I think someone is waiting for you,” he said, glancing at the window.

I followed his gaze and grinned. Torin was staring at our house. He was giving me a ride to school again. I kissed Dad, grabbed my backpack, and hurried outside. Aware that Dad was probably watching us, I turned just before I reached Torin and waved.

“Your dad?” Torin asked.

“Yeah.” I slipped into the front passenger seat then turned. Andris and Ingrid were having a heated discussion in the backseat, but once again, Lavania was missing.

Andris looked up and winked. “Are you going to watch the guys practice?”

“Yeah. You?”

He grabbed her
 
pom-poms and waved them. “I’d hate to miss out on Ingrid’s toe touch jumps.” He imitated cheer moves. “Give me a K… Give me a V…”

“Shut up.” Ingrid slapped his arm and tried to wrestle the pom-poms from his hands.

They continued bickering while I scooted closer to Torin as he left the cul-de-sac. “Where’s Lavania?”

“She left early to check on something at school.”

“Please, tell me this is not about Cora again.”

Torin shook his head. “I don’t know. She didn’t explain.”

“It is,” Andris said from the back.

I turned. “Why is she convinced Cora hates me enough to vandalize my locker? Besides, Officer Randolph tried to catch the person and couldn’t.”

“You still think one of us is behind it?” Ingrid asked. She tended to act like I didn’t exist. Even when I went to their house for lessons, she’d cut through the living room, where we often worked, nod at Lavania, and completely ignore me. “We’re not that petty,” she added.

I shrugged. “I don’t know what to think.”

“Randolph is incompetent. Do you know how many guys bring weed to school? He probably lied to save his ass,” Andris added.

Funny that hadn’t crossed my mind. Eliminating the Valkyries meant Cora could be guilty. I found that hard to believe. “How do you know about weed?”

“It’s my duty to find corrupt young minds and enable them,” Andris said. “Do you know how many high schools and colleges we’ve attended? And how boring they are?”

“You really smoke weed with students? That is so…” I shook my head.

“Shameless is the word you’re looking for,” Ingrid said.

Andris smirked. “I know. Makes life interesting.”

“You really shouldn’t,” Ingrid added, talking in low tones.

“Why not. I’m here to collect souls, not save them.”

Listening to them, I realized Ingrid might not be so bad after all.

At school, Torin parked across from the building. The first person I saw was Eirik. Once again, he was with a group of girls. If he saw us, he didn’t show it.

“Do you want me to talk to him?” Torin asked.

“No. He’ll come around.” I tensed as we approached the lockers. I turned the corner, expecting to see Cora trapped by runes, but she wasn’t there. I sighed with relief. There were fresh runes on the floor and the lockers.

“Lavania added different runes,” I said.

Torin sighed. “I noticed. You shouldn’t take what she and Andris say about Cora seriously. Listen to your gut.”

Unfortunately, my gut was making me second-guess myself. I’d known Cora most of my life. She didn’t have a hateful bone in her body. There was no way she could be deliberately screwing with my head by vandalizing my locker. On the other hand, she’d been so scared of me after that horrific meet when our teammates had died. Yet when I’d come back from the cruise, she’d completely changed. In fact, she’d gotten a kick out of the fact that I had known about the swimmers’ imminent deaths. That didn’t mean she hated me or that she was evil. It just meant she was fickle.

***

The next day, I wondered if maybe Cora had a problem with me. She didn’t make it to my house as she’d promised. Something came up, her text said. Crappiest excuse ever, but I didn’t mind. I ended up shopping with Torin. He got a Dracula costume with a purple waistcoat, which matched my purple and black Dracula bride gown. We were being corny, but I didn’t care. Torin looked amazingly hot in his costume.

On Saturday, Cora bombarded me with text messages during the meet. They weren’t doing so well, and every message made me feel guilty for quitting the team. The texts stopped when the meet ended.

I had told Torin we might be going to a party and he seemed okay with it, but I might as well not have bothered. I didn’t hear from Cora again. I left her countless messages, which she didn’t return. Pissed off, I sent her a long, nasty text and ended up trick-or-treating with Torin, Andris, Roger, Ingrid, and two of her cheerleader friends. Then we stopped by Drew’s house.

I didn’t see Eirik, though I knew how much he liked Halloween. I was tempted to text him a few times, but I had to remind myself he was the one who’d cut me off. Still, that didn’t stop me from missing him and Cora. We’d celebrated Halloween together since junior high and often pigged out on candies afterwards. If Torin noticed how quiet I was, he didn’t show it. He focused on making our time together memorable.

“I’m so sorry about Halloween,” Cora told me Monday morning, hugging me tight. “Please say you forgive me. We totally bombed. I mean, we were fifth out of seven teams. Fifth! Even the Mustangs beat us. It was total humiliation.”

I tried not to wince even though she was being melodramatic. “I can imagine. And the guys?”

“They came in third. They could have won if Eirik had been there. At least that’s what they said. You want to hang out later in the week? Dinner will be on me since I missed our shopping and Halloween.”

“Sure.” But I wasn’t holding my breath. I knew she’d blow me off again. I had no idea what was happening to her. “Text me.”

The week rolled by. No one drew more graffiti on our lockers, which was a relief. I saw Cora between classes, sometimes in the mornings. She always acted the same—enthusiastic and funny—yet I felt a distance between us since trapping her with runes.

Eirik kept his distance during the day but sleepwalked right into my room practically every night and tucked the pullout bed back every morning. Sometimes runes covered him and a cold wave of frosty air followed him, but at times, he came in with a warm breeze. Either way, it didn’t bother me. It
did
bother Torin, who insisted on spending the night to keep an eye on him.

My training grew intense. We moved from single to bind runes. It took me two days to decode a few bind runes—break them down into basic runes. Lavania refused to allow me to etch them on my skin until I did. I became better and earned a few. I could move faster. Not as fast as Torin, but faster than your average human. I could also engage my runes and fade—become invisible.

Dad continued to train, though he still looked emaciated. He and Mom kept disappearing through the portal to have private dinners at some fancy restaurant they’d visited before I was born. They’d come back in high moods. I didn’t mind. I got to spend more time with Torin, eat fancy takeout from places I couldn’t pronounce, and got plenty of souvenirs.

The excitement about the playoffs had started on Monday even though the game was on Friday. By Wednesday, the halls and classrooms were decorated with flags and school colors.

Torin and I turned the corner, and a sudden chill washed over me. I stopped and looked around. Behind us, Catie stood at the end of the hallway. Alone. Where were the other two Norns?

“What is it?” Torin asked.

“Don’t you see her?”

Torin followed my gaze and frowned. “Who?”

Catie was still there, which meant she was invisible. “The nicest of the crones. I’ll go see what she wants.” Torin shook his head, a frown crossing his face. “It’s okay. I’ll be careful.”

He followed me anyway.

Catie turned and walked away. I ran to catch up and saw her disappear inside one of the girls’ restrooms. The door opened, and a bunch of girls hurried out. I turned and grinned at Torin. “You can’t come inside.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with her,” he said.

“Torin.” I pushed my books into his hands. “Stop treating me like I’m fragile. I have runes now. Besides, you always know when I need you.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’ll stay right here.”

Shaking my head, I pushed opened the door and disappeared inside. Catie wasn’t alone. All three of them were there.

“Nice move, Catie.” I turned to leave and reached for the door.

“He’s getting worse,” Catie said.

I paused, remembering the runes. Argh, I hated depending on these three for anything, but I needed help with Eirik. Slowly, I turned. “Yes. The scars are back, too.”

They looked at each other and scowled.

“You do know about the scars he had when he was a child, don’t you?” I asked.

“Of course, we do,” Jeannette said sharply. “What color and shape are they?”

“Pink. Puffy.” I felt their sigh of relief. Someone tried to open the door and my eyes flew to it, but it didn’t open. The Norns must have changed the person’s mind for her. “What does their color have to do with anything?”

“They’re supposed to harden and become scaly as his dark side takes over,” Jeannette explained.