Witches (Runes series Book 6) (28 page)

“Onyx hid it.”

He chuckled. “Why?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you later. Now you need to go.” I pushed him through the portal and waved.

“I’ll save two seats for you and Ingrid,” he said, already changing his shirt. “Remember, two o’clock.”

It was cute to see him so excited. Before heading upstairs, I grabbed a can of catnip. Onyx deserved a treat after that mess with Cora. Once she knew Cora and Echo, she’d change her mind.

When I got to my bedroom, she wasn’t there and the dagger was gone again. Damn cat.

I sprinkled some catnip near her favorite sleeping spot and changed my shirt, replaced my jeans with Capri pants, and applied makeup. I checked my watch. Cora should be arriving at the nursing home.

I opened a portal and kept an eye on her. She was talking to the two Grimnirs. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but if they tried something, I was ready to help her. In fact, the male Grimnir could see me. I sighed with relief when Cora left them and disappeared inside Mrs. J’s room. I waved to the Grimnirs. The man bowed his head. The woman finally saw me. She wasn’t amused.

I closed the portal and left for the mansion to find Ingrid.

~*~

She was with Blaine in the kitchen, and was still in her bathrobe although she’d put on makeup. Blaine was dressed like a mechanic again. “You’re not dressed?”

“Why?” She took a bite of her sandwich, gave me a look that said she had no intention of moving, and sank back into her seat. “I’m not going anywhere today.”

My jaw dropped. “What? We talked yesterday about watching the soccer game at the StubHub today. And I texted you two hours ago.”

She shook her head. “California? I just woke up, Raine. Haven’t checked my phone, still fighting a hangover. All I plan to do is crawl back in bed and watch a chick flick.”

I plopped onto the nearest chair. “I’ll watch anything with you if you come with me. It’s been a crappy day, and I don’t want to sit alone with a bunch of parents screaming their kids’ names and waving stupid posters.” When she just shrugged, I glanced at Blaine. “Want to come? I’ll wait for you to wash up.”

He shook his head, his expression unreadable. “Sorry. I have to work.”

I groaned. “Doing what?”

“Helping out a bunch of bikers.”

“You’ll watch a movie with me?” Ingrid asked, standing up.

“Yes! Any time. You name it, and I’ll be there.”

“Okay.” She removed her robe to reveal shorts and a tank top. Then she picked up a sign she’d put upside down, lifted it. I saw what she’d written.

‘GO JACE!’

“You stinker!” I punched her arm. I shot Blaine a look. “You knew?”

“Nope.” But his smile said he was in on it.

“Let’s go then.” I jumped up, but Ingrid caught my arm.

“Wait. I made this one,”—she extended her hand and Blaine gave her a second sign—“for you.” She lifted it.

‘GO GALAXY!’

She’d used bright yellow on a blue background. Both were the club’s colors. White, sparkly stars added pizzazz to the poster. “When did you have time to do this?”

“Torin stopped by on his way, uh, ten minutes ago. I sent Blaine to get the supplies, so it took about two minutes to do both.” Hyper-speed had its perks.

I’d never attended a soccer game. Driven past a few, yes, but never cheered for anyone. I guess I was going to carry a stupid poster after all. Ingrid insisted on redoing my makeup, and then we left.

~*~

We got to the stadium before the game started. In fact, the players weren’t even warming up yet. There were a lot more people in the audience this time. Parents and siblings of the players were wearing team colors—navy-blue T-shirts and jerseys with gold/yellow writing and the Galaxy logo—and carried posters with the name of the team and their kids.

Andris waved us over from the front seat. “Nice turnout,” I said.

“Serious rivalry between Galaxy and the team from San Diego,” he explained and winked at Ingrid when he saw the posters. “Like old times, huh?”

She just grinned, but I was intrigued. “So this is not the first time she’s made posters?”

“No,” she said. “I’ve been cheering for whatever team they’re coaching or Torin’s playing with for as long as I can remember. It’s either pom-poms or posters. I can make them in my sleep.”

And she wasn’t kidding about cheering. Ingrid morphed right before my eyes. Granted she’d been doing that the last week, but this Ingrid… She cat-whistled when the teams entered the field. It was a little embarrassing. Okay, it was really embarrassing. The way she was going on, one would think she had a kid on the team. I slouched low in my seat and tried to make myself invisible. Andris noticed and laughed.

“You’ll get used to her,” he whispered. Then he nodded at someone behind us. I figured it was his latest conquest, until I turned and my eyes met Taylor’s, Jace’s father.

Taylor senior didn’t carry a poster like the other parents. But then again the mothers were the ones who did the carrying. Most fathers acted like the game wasn’t that important, but they were probably living vicariously through their children. If they knew their kids would be dead in two weeks, I’d bet they’d cheer their hearts out.

No morbid thoughts, please. I couldn’t afford to start thinking about the plane crash now. There was nothing I could do about it.

Andris left to join the coaches. Torin looked toward us once before the referees blew the whistle and the game began. I didn’t know anything about soccer, except the basics—players kicked the ball to the opposite goal and the goalie blocked it or they scored. According to my father’s brief tutorial during the week, players could use any part of their bodies except their hands. I assumed they had offense and defense like in football. Prepared to be bored, I sipped my bottled water.

The other team’s uniforms were red, making them stand out. Galaxy wore white shorts and shirts with slanted navy-blue stripes crossing from their left shoulders to their right hips. The word
Herbalife
dominated the shirt on the chest. I wondered what
Herbalife
meant. Maybe they were into herbs and this was their way of saying Have-a-life. I almost giggled at my thoughts. This was going to be a long game.

Fifteen minutes into the game, I joined Ingrid. We cheered and screamed. We high-fived each other when the team scored and voiced our frustrations when the opposing team came too close to scoring or did score. Ingrid had no problem yelling at the referees when they gave a penalty to one of the Galaxy kids. If the parents thought we were crazy supporting kids we didn’t know, they didn’t show it. They were right behind us and we high-fived them too.

Jace was amazing. He was possibly the smallest player, yet he was unstoppable. Agile. Torin knew when to play him and when to pull him out. At half time, his father joined us.

“I’m Zachary Taylor, Jace’s father,” he said, offering his hand.

I shook it. “I’m Raine and she’s Ingrid.” I indicated Ingrid who waved.

“Do you teach at my son’s school?” he asked, his eyes flickering between Ingrid and me.

The makeup Ingrid had put on me must make me look older. “No, Mr. Taylor. We are friends with Coach St. James. We thought we’d come and cheer the team and, uh, Jace. Ingrid made the signs.”

The look he threw Ingrid was full of gratitude. “Thank you. Both of you.”

The second half went faster, and when the referees blew the whistle, Galaxy had decimated San Diego nine to two.

“Semifinals!” was whispered and shouted as parents left the stands and ran into the field to congratulate and hug their sons. The fathers puffed out their chests, but none as much as Taylor senior.

A woman brushed past me, gripped my arms, and said, “Thanks for the support…” The rest of her words faded away with the field and empty seats.

The stadium was packed, the screaming deafening as the large airplane nosedived into the crowd. I wasn’t on the grassy bench anymore, but on the stands on the east side. Around me were the Academy students and their parents, shoving and jumping over each other to get out of the way. They weren’t seated in the path of the plane, but that didn’t stop the mass exodus or their hysterical screams. People pushed and scrambled away from the stands, most heading toward the upper seats and exits.

“Dad!” a voice rang out and I followed the sound to Jace.

“Jace! I’m coming.” His father must have gone to get something for them to eat, because he was the only one pushing through the crowd in the opposite direction.

“No, Dad. Go back! I’m com—”

His words were cut off by a woman who knocked him down as she dragged her younger daughter. Her foot slipped off the seat and the heel of her shoes connected with Jace’s ribs. My stomach lurched as he screamed, the sound mingling with others. His father didn’t see the incident because the wing of the plane detached and flew across the stadium like a Frisbee, catching him and several people with it, including the woman who’d stepped on Jace. It flung them across the field and stopped right smack in the middle of the seats behind where Ingrid and I were seated minutes ago.

I didn’t think Jace’s dad and the woman in heels were going to make it. Jace wasn’t moving. People kept stepping on him, kicking him. Not intentionally. He just happened to be on the ground as everyone was looking up and not watching where they were stepping. Because of my position, I could finally see the name of the airline written in English.

The vision cleared and I found myself seated a fair distance from the players and their parents, who were still at the edge of the field. Ingrid’s arm was around me, and her hand gripped mine. From the way she was seated on the arm of the chair, she was also shielding me from prying eyes.

“You okay?” she whispered.

I stared at her in bemusement. Funny how she’d been the other girl for months. Maliina’s sister. Andris’ Immortal. Now she was becoming not just a friend, but someone I could depend on. I nodded.

“The woman bumped you and you froze, then your eyes started to glow. That was my cue. I caught you before you fell.”

“Fell?”

“Your legs kind of gave out.” She smiled at someone, and I followed her eyes to Torin, who might be talking to the parents, but was keeping us in his line of vision. Usually, Torin didn’t trust anyone to watch over me. Ingrid had gained his trust.

As though she’d heard my thoughts, Ingrid added, “He was ready to take you home, but I told him the team needed him, and he actually listened.” She chuckled. “Men just need a firm voice.”

Or maybe he wanted me to see the entire vision. Our eyes met and I saw the concern dancing in the depths of his. I sat up as though to reassure him I was okay. The problem was I wasn’t. How could I be, when so many were going to die? Jace was going to lose his father, right after losing his mother.

The parents started across the field for the American Express Stadium Club. Andris was missing, so he must have been in charge of food again. Some parents looked at us and warmth crawled up my cheeks. They must think I was a wimp. Today was the second time Torin had deserted their children and ran to my side.

“I want to go home,” I whispered to Torin when he joined us.

He looked at Ingrid and without speaking, she moved away to give us privacy. Torin squatted and studied my face. “You sure?”

I nodded. “I can’t eat with them and act normal when I know what’s going to happen to them. And no, you’re not coming home with me or I will not leave.”

He grinned, stood, and offered me his hand. “Whatever you say.”

Somehow I didn’t think he’d give in that easily. “I mean it, Torin. I’ll be okay.”

“I know.” He glanced at Ingrid who was a few seats away. She smiled at us, shrugged, and went back to studying her fingernails. “She’ll tell me if you’re not. You want to come to the club and create a portal in the restroom, or do you want to do it form here? I can shield you.”

I glanced over his shoulder. The team and their parents were already across the field. The other team had already tucked their tails and left the stadium. Losing sucks.

“Shield us.” I pulled my artavus from inside my boot and created a portal. It opened into my bedroom. But it wasn’t empty.

Eirik was stretched out on my bed fast asleep, one leg dangling to the floor. Torin and I looked at each other.

“Were you expecting him?” Torin asked.

“Yes. I sent Onyx to find him. I’ll explain later.” His eyes didn’t leave Eirik and he opened his mouth to argue. “Please, just feed your team. Oh, the woman that bumped into me before I got my vision?”

“Yes.”

“Find out who she is.”

Ingrid and I stood at the foot of the bed and studied Eirik. I still couldn’t get over how much he’d changed. His Chex Mix hair was longer and more wavy than curly. The guy I had known was gone. In his place was a mysterious man full of secrets and a body… Wow. He was either on steroids or some magical juice because he seemed taller and more buff. I wasn’t sure how to treat this Eirik. He, on the other hand, still treated my room like his own.

“Damn, he’s hot,” Ingrid said.

I grinned. Eirik used to be lean with a swimmer’s body and was a little on the pale side. Now, he was tanned and buff. His T-shirt had ridden up in his sleep, giving us a view of some serious six-pack.

“Yeah. He’s even prettier.” He’d worn black the last time I saw him. Today, he wore Levis and a T-shirt with a black trench coat.

The first time he’d appeared after visiting Asgard, he’d carried a mace or flail with a spiked round head. When he wasn’t using it, it had coiled around his arm, from his hand to somewhere under his sleeve. I couldn’t recall whether it was his right or left arm. He now had a mace tattooed on his right arm. The handle disappeared between his thumb and forefinger as though he was holding it.

“Aren’t you going to wake him up?” Ingrid asked, walking to the other side of the bed and studying Eirik from a different angle.

“Why? Want an introduction?” I teased her.

“Why not? The first time we met I didn’t know he was a god. I’ve never really met a god before.” She tilted her head to the side and studied him from yet another angle. “He’s changed. A lot.”

“Yes.” Yet in some aspects he hadn’t. He still slept with one arm across his eyes and hogged the bed. Part of me wanted to wake him up, but another part was uneasy.

“You’re just going to stand there?” Ingrid asked.

Before I could respond, Onyx entered the room. Well, not exactly entered. She stopped in the threshold and hissed.

“What, Onyx?”

Get that thing out of our room.

Thing? I was so not in the mood for her drama. I nudged Eirik’s knee. He mumbled something and turned his head sideways toward Ingrid, his hand fell away from his face. He was all skin and muscles, his jawline more defined. He might be eighteen now, but he looked more like he was in his late twenties. I pushed his knee again. Harder.

His eyelids lifted to reveal unfocused amber eyes. Then they sharpened and locked on Ingrid. But instead of saying something, he turned his head and found me.

I swallowed, waiting for, I don’t know, the old Eirik. Or the new, mean Eirik. Or maybe even the evil Eirik. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he swung his feet onto the floor and stood.

“Where’s my hug, funny face?”

I leapt into his arms, tears rushing to my eyes. The old Eirik was back. I hugged him tighter. He chuckled and turned towards Ingrid, his arms not letting me go either.

“Hey, I’m Eirik,” he said.

“Ingrid.”

“Sorry, she’s having a meltdown or I’d shake your hand,” he said, talking about me as though I wasn’t there, still refusing to let him go. “We’ve met before, right?”

“And fought on the same side. I better leave you guys. Raine…” She paused and chuckled. “Tell her I’ll be at the mansion… Oh, your former house. I don’t mean it’s no longer—”

“It’s okay,” Eirik reassured her. There was a draft accompanying the portal opening and closing as she left. Only then did I lean back from Eirik. I still held on to his shirt. Fists of it in case he decided to pull a fast one and disappear again. I was being a girl again and didn’t care. Eirik was back.

“You’re such a drama queen,” he said, wiping the wetness from my face.

“Shut up.” I pushed him until he sat on my bed and sniffled as more tears threatened to fall. “You’re not moving until you tell me everything. And I mean it, starting with your trip to Asgard.”

“Can I get something to eat first? I’m starving.”

I laughed. The old Eirik was definitely back. But I didn’t want to share him with Femi and Mom or even Dad. Not yet.

“Stay here. I’ll get you something. Do not move.” I created a portal and was about to go through when I looked back at him. He was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, his expression serious. He could disappear again.

I walked back and grabbed his hand. “Changed my mind. You’re coming with me.” He chuckled. “Cut that out. I’m not taking chances with you. You have a nasty habit of appearing to play the hero, then disappearing.” Luckily, no one was in the kitchen, but there was a note on the fridge door.

‘Food for you and Eirik in the stove.’

I turned and glanced at Eirik, who was already eating an apple. “How long have you been here?”

“An hour,”—he checked his watch—“and a half.”

“You should have come to find me.” I removed the roast and potatoes from the oven and placed it on the counter.

“You were busy cheering for Torin’s team. Didn’t want to get in the way.” He got up to throw away the apple core and took the plates from my hand. “Besides, I got to catch up with your mother and Femi. And I decided not to eat until you got here.”

“I could have gone to eat with Torin’s team.” I would have if I hadn’t gotten that traumatic vision again.

“I knew you’d be home.” He served himself enough food to feed ten people. “Remember, I’m a Seer just like you.”

I got some food, but it was too early for me to eat, so I ended up watching him shove food in his mouth. He reminded me of Beau.

“So you saw me come home early in a vision?” He grinned and nodded. “Do you also project images to people’s heads?” Not that I thought he was behind the visions I’d been seeing of Torin, but it didn’t hurt to ask. “Do you?”

“I can, but choose not to.”

“Can you tell if there’re Witches in town?”

He swallowed, lifted a finger, and got up for a drink. He removed a bottle of orange juice, twisted the top off, and chugged.

“You’re still as disgusting as ever,” I scolded him, getting him a glass. “Mom will kill you if she finds out you’re drinking her favorite juice from the bottle,” I said.

“She won’t know if you don’t tell her,” he shot back and we both laughed. It was like old times. It didn’t matter how often I warned him and threatened to tell on him, he always chugged from the bottle, unless I served him the drink.

“There’re Witches in town, but they came with me. Why?”

“Someone has been putting visions in my head.”

“What kind?”

Warmth crept onto my face. The visions were too personal to share with him. “Can you see premonitions about yourself?”

“Nope, and my friends know better than to mess with you.”

“They know about me? You mean the Norns didn’t delete their memories?”

Eirik smiled mysteriously and went back to his food. I nibbled mine and watched him instead. He demolished the contents of the plate, then he started on the pie—one of the two Cora had dropped off.

“You know this withholding of information never works with me. I need answers, Eirik, so start talking.”

“I’m still eating,” he complained.

“So talk while you eat. Never stopped you before.”

He shot me an amused look. “You do know I’m a god, right?”

“And you do know I don’t give a shit, right? You’re my best friend. No, my brother and I have…” My voice trembled to a stop. I took a deep breath then finished. “I’ve missed you.”

“Here comes the waterworks,” he mumbled.

I kicked him. “Shut up! I want to know what happened, so I can find a reason to forgive you for putting me through so much grief and crap for the past seven months.”

He leaned back and inhaled deeply. “I’ve been waiting for that.”

“What?” I asked.

“You getting pissed.”

I took a deep breath and slowly counted backwards. Yes, I was angry with him and hurt, but this was not the time to bring that up. My eyes went to the tattoo peeking out from under his sleeve. I took his arm and pushed the sleeve back, my eyes following the mace. When I looked up, he was staring at me with sad eyes.

“I’m not mad,” I said.

He snickered.

“Okay, I am pissed and hurt, you jerk. You can’t disappear on me and not even bother to let me know you’re okay. You are a freaking portal away. And I swear, if you ever pull a last minute appearance again and then disappear without talking to me, I will hunt your sorry ass down and make you regret it.” I blew out air. “There. I’m done. Not going to rant and rave again.” His lips twitched as though he was trying not to smile and I pretended not to see it. Instead, I traced his tattoo. In the next second, I dropped his arm like it was a snake and jumped. “It’s alive.”

“Sorry about that. I should have secured it properly.”

“What do you mean?”

“I store it in me.” He pushed the pie aside. “See? Unbond.” He flexed his arm and runes appeared on his skin. The spiked ball of his mace peeled off his skin like a Band Aid. By the time it reached his wrist, it had leapt into his hand. He placed the weapon on the counter.

“How do you do that?”

“Magic. I project it to the mace and will it to meld with me.”

“Nice. Who taught you?”

“The Witches. Everywhere I’ve visited, they’ve come out to meet me and teach me stuff. I’ve made friends across the globe.”

I frowned. “Do they know what you are?”

He nodded, grinning. “That’s why they came when I called.”

He didn’t seem too worried about the laws or hiding the existence of the Norse Pantheon from Mortals. Or maybe that didn’t apply to the gods. “How was Asgard?”

“Beautiful.” He picked up his fork and went back to eating the pie. “All they do is party and train. There’s an occasional threat from the evil giants and monsters, but it’s nothing like Hollywood movies depict.”

“And Hel?”

A weird look crossed his face. “Complicated. Demanding. Mean and unforgiving as the realm itself. Can we talk about something else?”

So he and his mother still had issues. Onyx had said that he’d chosen her. “Why haven’t you gone back to Asgard?”

“Who says I haven’t?”

“My cat. Onyx.”

He chuckled. “She’s a crazy one. I swear I was sure she’d scratch out my eyes when I appeared in your room. She doesn’t like me. Do you remember how cats and dogs would go crazy whenever we went to the animal shelter? Now I know why.”

I didn’t care about Onyx’s hatred for my friends or the past. Eirik had neatly avoided answering my question about returning to Asgard. “Did they kick you out of Asgard? Force you to choose a side?”

He licked the fork. “This is really good.” He checked the box and saw the logo. “Of course, it’s from Cora’s mother. She makes the best pies. Can I have whipped cream or ice cream with it?”

“Get it yourself.”

He stood and pointed his fork at me. “You’re forgetting again that I’m a god.”

“Who happens to know his way around this house and doesn’t need me waiting on him. Get over yourself.”

He laughed and planted a kiss on my forehead. “I’ve missed you.”

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed. It was Cora. She was going to be surprised to hear Eirik was back. “Hey!”

“If you don’t hear from me in five minutes, find me,” Cora said.

“Cora, what’s going on?”

“I’m dealing with an unusual soul. Make it two minutes.” Then the line went dead.

“Cora! I cannot believe that girl.”

Eirik came back to the table with a can of whipped cream. “What’s wrong?”

“She said she’s dealing with an unusual soul, and if I don’t hear from her in two minutes, I should call her. I hope she’s not doing something she’ll regret.”

“Are she and Echo still together?”

There was no anger or animosity in his voice, just mild curiosity, but I wasn’t an idiot. His refusal to answer my questions only made me more determined to find out what was going on. Why would a god spend so much time in this realm unless he couldn’t go home?

“They’re still together, but I’m sure you already know that. I swear if Asgardians made you choose between your mother and them…”

He chuckled. “You sound like you’re ready to kick some serious ass. Whose side are you on?” He sobered up. “Have you thought about it? Where you want to live? Both sides have different things to offer. In Asgard, you’ll probably have a hall with servants and your every need met. In Nornsgard, you’ll be treated like their exulted leader despite being the youngest. In Hel… well, it’s the same.”

Material things. Who needs them? “I have, if you must know. Not that it’s any of your business.” He continued to watch me. “If they were to ask me now, I’d choose us.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Us?”

“Earth, or Midgard. Humans. Mortals and Immortals. I’d rather warn them before I announce the beginning of the battle. Fight with them to make sure some survived, not just a select few.”