Witches (Runes series Book 6) (4 page)

Her attitude didn’t bother me. Soul reapers took their jobs way too seriously. Since I was all about helping living people, not the dead, we were bound to knock heads. “Then you understand that he might get a full ride to college. I had to do something to help him. If you have a problem with it, report me to the Valkyrie Council or whoever you answer to.”

I brushed past them, but the girl reached for me. I jerked my hand away, but not fast enough. Her hand closed around my arm, and I wasn’t surprised that a vision appeared. I had gotten used to them by now, but I really needed to learn how to close my mind to them. Beau’s kitchen disappeared to be replaced by a familiar, brightly lit hallway.

The two Grimnirs stood at the end of the hallway as though waiting for someone. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they didn’t look happy. A blonde approached them. It was Cora Jemison, my best friend. No wonder the hallway had looked familiar. It was the nursing home where Cora volunteered.

Cora saw the two Grimnirs and broke into a run, but they stopped her, the woman grabbing her arm and the guy creating a portal. They disappeared through the portal with Cora.

The vision cleared, leaving me shaken. I jerked my arm from the Grimnir and stepped back. “What do you want with Cora Jemison?”

Surprise flickered across the woman’s face. The guy had a poker face.

“Who?” the woman asked.

“Really? You want to pretend you don’t know her?” Cora was dating a notorious Grimnir. There was no way they didn’t know her. “Do not pay Cora a visit at the nursing home. Do not touch her, or do something stupid like kidnap her, because I’ll know. She’s under my protection, so if you mess with her, you mess with me. And where I go, the Valkyries follow. So leave her alone.”

“You think we are afraid of the Valkyries?” the girl asked. The guy smirked.

“Oh, then you’d better be afraid of one of your own. You touch Cora and I’ll tell Echo.” That got their attention. The girl paled and the guy stopped smirking. “Happy reaping, Grimnirs.”

The lights were on in my bedroom when I returned. Torin was back! After going through Beau’s gym bag, I wanted nothing more than to take a shower and curl up in my boyfriend’s arms.

Surprise replaced the anticipation when I realized someone else was in my room. She was sitting in my computer chair. At first, all I saw was wavy blonde hair the color of sunbeams cascading to the floor like a waterfall.
 
Only one blonde came and went into my room as she pleased, but it wasn’t Cora. Her hair was lighter and shorter. As though she felt my presence, the owner of the glorious mane swiveled around and faced me.

My eyes widened with immediate recognition. She was gorgeous; her online pictures did not do her justice. Her white and golden dress flowed to her sandaled feet.
 
Her roped belt matched the golden headpiece inlaid with red jewels that held back her hair from her face. A single jewel dangled between her startling blue eyes, and a gorgeous gold necklace with the same gems graced her neck. I recognized the necklace—
Brísingamen
. Internet pictures got that wrong too. It was more breathtaking. The gray and black tabby on her lap was also smaller than those often shown pulling her chariot.

What was Goddess Freya doing in my room?

“No need to be shy, Svana’s daughter,” she said, her voice musical and hypnotic. “Come closer.”

I tried to resist, but it was as though she’d put a spell on me. Was this how she seduced the gods? She was known for taking many lovers, yet her heart belonged to one—her diseased husband.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked, standing, her bejeweled hand stroking her cat’s head gently.

I nodded.

“Or would you prefer me to appear like this?” The words barely left her mouth when her golden gown shifted and changed texture until it was battle armor—golden breastplate, skirt, knee-high boots, and a headdress with wings. She looked totally badass. All she needed was her chariot drawn by her cats. I hid a smile.

“Or perhaps you’re more comfortable with me like this.” All the clothes disappeared, except for a shawl over her shoulder. Now I had a naked goddess in my room.

I closed my eyes. “The first one was fine.”

She chuckled. “So you do have a voice. From what I’d heard about you, I didn’t expect you to be shy or so modest. Nudity is something you should embrace, my dear. The same way you embrace your femininity or your destiny.”

“What do you want?” I flushed when I realized how rude I sounded. “I mean, what are you doing here?”

“Sit, please.” She took the chair she’d vacated a few minutes ago.

I sat on the edge of my bed, and angled my body so there was enough space between us. I still couldn’t believe she was in my room, and that her cat wasn’t attacking me. Cats hated me. As far back as I could remember, cats would hiss whenever Eirik and I walked past them. But then again, dogs would also either snarl or whine. I never understood it. This one watched me with eyes that seemed way too intelligent for a cat.

“I saw what you did to help that boy tonight.”

“Oh. Is that why you’re here? To tell me to stop?” I asked defensively and shifted uneasily.

“Maybe. Would you?”

“No.”

She chuckled. “I like your attitude. I’ve been your champion even before you were born, dear, so I’m not here to stop you. I’ve watched you since you learned about our world. And I knew you would eventually figure things out.”

If she wasn’t here to stop me, what did she want? This particular goddess had been my mother’s mentor. She’d fought for my parents to be together and even for Mom to rejoin the Valkyries. She could actually be nice.

“My champion before I was born? Why? Did you know I’d be a
Völva
and one of the announcers of Ragnarok? Was that why you supported my parents?”

She chuckled. “Ah, you are a suspicious one, aren’t you? I cannot see the future like you or Frigga.” A grimace crossed her face after she mentioned Odin’s wife. “She never tells anyone what she’s seen. So much pain and heartache would be avoided if she only shared. So, no, dear one, I didn’t know what you’d become. I supported your parents because I’m the Goddess of Love. And I made sure you were born because I’m also the Goddess of Fertility. It was quite a fight challenging the Norns for you, but every child matters. I win some battles and I lose some, but I keep fighting. I fought for your birth without knowing why they didn’t want you to be born. And once you were born, my job was done. If I’d known they’d try to manipulate you, I would have continued to keep an eye on you. Vile creatures, the Norns.”
 
She closed her eyes and when her eyelids lifted, her blue eyes were flashing with something I couldn’t define—anger or determination. “You don’t mess with the Norns unless you plan to win, my dear. And to win you must be willing to make sacrifices. Do you want to win?”

I’d gone to selective listening after she said one word: “Sacrifices?”

“Do you want to win, Raine?” she asked, her voice sharp.

“Of course,” I shot back, not liking her bossiness.

“Then I’ll help you. Tonight, I watched you appear to the young Mortal as yourself,” she continued. “Why would you do that?”

“How was I supposed to appear to him?”

She leaned forward, her cat purring and angling its head as she scratched its ears. “He will remember you.”

“No, he won’t. I runed him.”

She sighed impatiently. “Are you forgetting something? Runes’ effects are not permanent. Just like the runes on your body, you must replenish them or their effect wanes. He will remember. It might take a week or a month, depending on his mental and physical prowess, but he will remember.”

Deflated, I scowled. “Then what am I supposed to do? I mean how do the Norns do it?”

The goddess smiled. “That’s the question you should have asked yourself before you went charging in. Norns get inside people’s heads, selectively erase memories, and implant new ones. One day, you’ll be able to do that.”

Norns had messed with Torin’s memories so he’d forget me. I’d hated them for that. “No, thanks. I would never do something so despicable to anyone.”

“Circumstances can force you to do things you hate, my dear,” she said, as a far-away look entered her eyes. “Sometimes, it’s the only solution.” She refocused on me. “Anyway, I have an answer to your problem, if you want to continue helping people.”

Did I want to continue helping people? Yes. I might not be able to run from my destiny, but I planned to do things my way. Norns didn’t marry. But I planned to marry Torin. Norns lived together in their own hall somewhere in Asgard and worked in groups of threes. Even though I didn’t have two other Norns-in-training with me, I had Valkyries watching my back and I planned to someday share a home with Torin.

“Okay, what’s the answer?” I said.

“You need to change your appearance whenever you appear to people.”

“Shape-shift?”

She chuckled. “No, dear. You are not a shape-shifter any more than Norns are. Shape-shifting involves bones changing shapes and sizes. What Norns and Witches like you do is control what Mortals see. It’s all an illusion. You connect to the source of your magic and work with it. You mimic.”

I shuddered, remembering how an evil Norn-in-training had mimicked Cora and screwed with our heads. That was something I didn’t want to learn. It left a nasty taste in my mouth, yet I had to hide my real identity if I wanted to continue helping people.

“How do I do that?” I asked a tad reluctantly.

She cocked a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what you mean by the source of my magic. When I want to use my magic, it just happens. I mean, I touch things and the visions appear.”

She sighed. “I’m not talking about your ability to connect with the energies people leave behind. I’m talking about your core energy, the one that makes all of the magic possible. Have you ever projected your thoughts into someone’s head?”

I nodded, remembering how I’d knocked out Torin just before the battle with his evil father. “Yes. I’ve spoken to people with my mind before.”

 
“How do you connect with Mother Earth?”

“Same thing. I think it and it happens.”

Confusion clouded her eyes. “But you had the entire forest following your wishes when you fought the Immortals. You must have felt it.”

Last week, I’d connected with the earth for the first time and replanted the trees Torin had destroyed. A few days later, we’d battled his father, and I’d once again connected with nature and controlled it.

I shook my head. “No. I mean, I felt the adrenaline rush from anger and fear.”

She chuckled. “That would definitely mask your connection. You’ve been so busy riding on emotions that you haven’t paid attention to the source of your magic,” she said. She pressed a hand to my chest. “It’s in here. Find it, feel it, and channel it.” She leaned forward. “Take a deep breath and dig deep.”

I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to dig, but I took a deep breath. Nothing happened. The goddess frowned.

“Let the need to connect with your magic fill you,” she said.

I tried. I really did, but nothing happened.

“Hel’s Mist! How can you be so powerful and be so inept?” Her eyes glowed then dimmed. “See how easy that was?”

“Yeah, for a goddess. I’m seventeen and have just barely acquired my powers.”

Hands on her hips, she pinned me down with glowing eyes. “You didn’t acquire anything. It’s always been inside you. Find it.”

Anger shot through me. “Listen, I can learn at my own pace and Lavania—”

“There’s no time. The Norns will not leave you alone as you approach your eighteenth birthday. We need to speed up your education. Some Witches draw energy from others, so when they heal one person, another falls ill. Others draw from their surroundings, like evil souls, while others tap into the powers of their ancestors in burial grounds. You tap into a power that’s inside you. You connect it to the energy others leave behind whenever you want a vision without even realizing it. You called it forth and linked it to nature’s power to heal the trees and order the vines. I watched you battle and I was very impressed. Yet you’re just sitting there looking very ordinary like a Mortal. You’re not ordinary, Lorraine Cooper, so snap out of it!” She snapped her fingers right under my nose. “Find the passion, the burning desire to claim your birthright, the need to be more than ordinary.”

“I’m trying,” I whined. “It’s just—” Then I felt it, a spark deep inside me. Like someone, or something, flipped a switch.

“Let it grow and flow.”

Her voice was beginning to bug me. If anyone asked me how I did it, I wouldn’t be able to explain it. The spark became a pulsing feeling that unfurled like petals of a blooming flower. It spread and grew until my entire body throbbed with it.

“Beautiful. Your eyes are glowing with it.” She got up and extended her hand. “Come with me.”

I took her hand and eyed her cat warily, seeing my face reflected in its dark eyes. If I made a sudden movement, would it pounce? I stifled a giggle.

“Get up, Raine,” the goddess urged.

“Where are we going?”

“I want to show you something.” I hesitated. “Trust me, child,” she added softly.

After the Norns, I wasn’t about to trust another deity. I didn’t care how nice she was. She wasn’t in my room helping me tap into my powers for nothing. She wanted something. I stood. Dizziness washed over me, and I would have fallen if she hadn’t grabbed my arm and steadied me.

She chuckled. “The power can be too much and gives a buzz like you’re drunk. You must learn to control it. Connect with it and when you’re done, push it back.”

I stared at her hand, marveling at the enhanced sensitivity of my skin. Even after she let go, I felt the imprint of her soft palm. I ran my fingers over my arm, expecting to see sparks. No sparks, but my skin felt like I had live wires running under it. I looked around and grinned. Everything seemed brighter and more colorful as though someone had turned up the lights and enhanced the hues.

A chuckle drew my attention back to the goddess. She was blindingly radiant, but now I noticed a few things I hadn’t seen before. She had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and mouth, and there was sadness in her eyes. She was also keeping secrets.

She sighed. “You’re trying to read me?”

“What do you really want from me, Goddess Freya?”

“I promised your mother I’d stop by for a chat, so here I am. The Norns have taken too much from you, and they won’t stop unless you stop them.”

I frowned. Apart from friends I had lost during the swim meet, the Norns hadn’t taken anything from me. As for stopping them, that was impossible. “I don’t understand.”

“Forget about that. Take a hard look at me. My hair. My eyes. What I’m wearing. Then close your eyes and let the image fill your mind. Once it does, will yourself to transform, so you look exactly like me. Whatever you want changed, focus on it. But do not let your power ebb. You need it for the shift.”

I shot her a skeptical look. “I’m going to shape-shift—”