Witches (Runes series Book 6) (9 page)

I kicked off my shoes and sat on the mat across from hers. I’d gotten used to sitting on the floor on mats and using a low table when she taught. Usually the tables were lined up side by side and covered with runic text books, our books, and artavo holders for the three of us—Cora, Ingrid, and me. Since we weren’t working on runes and she was doing a one-on-one session with me, she’d pushed the three tables aside to create more room. If anyone walked in on us, we’d appear to be meditating.

“Did you have a cat too?” I asked her.

“Yes, before I joined the Vestal Virgins. I even named her Vesta after the goddess. We had several cats in the Temple, where we lived. In my time, cats were seen as the Gods of Liberty and sacrifices were made to them.”

She’d joined Valkyries during the period when ancient Rome was at the peak of its civilization. “There should be a manual for all this, you know,” I said. “What to expect when a witch’s abilities start to show? How to train your familiar? What to do about visions or Norns?”

She chuckled and took my hands. Torin poked his head inside the room and she shooed him away. Once the door closed, she focused on me.

 
“We’ll figure things out,” she said. “I’ll show you how to channel your power, when to let it flow and when to shut it off. It will help you control your visions.”

Yes! Exactly what I wanted to hear. “I know I have you, and some Witches like Rita and Gina have their mentors and parents to help them. But what about those who don’t have anyone and don’t belong to a coven? Do they freak out when their powers appear? I didn’t even know what the Call was until the Witches appeared here and Gina mentioned it.”

Lavania sighed. “That’s because you’re a lot more powerful than most Witches and your powers are appearing much faster. Most times, the gift of sight is passed from parent to child, and the child learns from the mother.”

Yeah, except my mother was a Valkyrie but hadn’t revealed that to me because she’d fallen in love with my father, a Mortal, and renounced her calling to be a soul reaper. The punishment was to never, ever mention anything to anyone about who she was. Not even me, her daughter. I was surprised the Norns hadn’t wiped Dad’s memories so he’d forget too.

“Andris’ mother helped him understand his special connection with the spirit world way before he took lessons with the high priest,” Lavania said. “Torin’s case was different. His father wasn’t willing to share his knowledge with anyone, not even his children.”

Selfish butthead.

“Things were a lot easier for young Witches when we had schools,” she added.

“Then why not open one again? After what the Earl and his Immortal followers did, there should be a safe place for Witches to go and learn. Norns could choose from among them instead of stealing Seeresses. Oh, and you could make sure the students not only learn magic in a controlled environment, but have expert teachers in all areas.”

For a moment, she just stared at me. Warmth crept onto my cheeks. Like my mother, Lavania was centuries old. Though in her case, she could pass for a college student, which made it easy to sometimes forget she was my mentor. She was smart, patient, and wise. I liked that she was a good listener and often discussed my ideas without putting them down.

“It’s scary when your powers blindside you,” I said. “And things are easier when you’re not alone. I mean, I have you, but—”

“I know, dear.” She patted my hand. “I just don’t think I can run a school. It’s been so long. Centuries. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Right here. You are teaching the three of us, but we are surrounded by Immortals with a vast knowledge of the supernatural world. Femi. Hawk. Blaine. Mom. Torin and Andris. Then there’s you. You’re so good with students, so patient. And your students love you. Look at Andris and Torin. They look up to you and respect your wisdom. I’m able to face new challenges because of the confidence you’ve instilled in me.”

Everything I’d said was true except the part about my confidence. That came from my parents. They laid the foundation for me to thrive. Dad taught me to always plan for the unexpected while Mom taught me to embrace changes, no matter how hard. Lavania and my Seeress’ adventures just benefited from that.

“I didn’t even know I could shape-shift… I mean, mimic other so that people only see what I want them to see,” I added.

She nodded, a far-away look in her eyes. “That’s something you’ll learn years from now. Right now, we need to focus on controlling your powers.”

“But I did it last night. I’m not good at it, but the goddess helped.”

Lavania glanced at me as though I’d yanked her from miles away. “What goddess?”

“Freya. She’s the one who dropped off Fur… my cat.”

Lavania’s eyes widened. “Femi didn’t say anything about Goddess Freya dropping off one of her cats. She just said the cat was yours. I assumed Svana got her while you and the others were in Florida. Tell me what happened. From the beginning.”

When I finished, she was pacing. Finally, she pulled her black hair to one shoulder and sat. Her hair had grown so much she could sit on it.

“Show me,” she ordered.

I closed my eyes and tapped into my power source. This time, I found the spark a little faster. As it bloomed, I let an image fill my thoughts. When I opened my eyes, Lavania was staring at me in awe.

“What do you think?” I asked.

She made a face. “Unsettling. You look exactly like him. How long can you maintain it?” Excitement laced her words.

“I don’t know.”

There was a knock on the library door and Andris entered. He frowned when he saw us. “When did you get here?” he asked. “I mean, I just left you in the field a few minutes ago.”

I jumped to my feet, grinning and hoping I had nailed Torin’s smoothness. I didn’t. I stumbled a bit. Torin wouldn’t. He was graceful. Adopting his easy loose-gaited stride, I sauntered to where Andris stood and dropped an arm around his shoulder.

“That’s because I’m faster than you’ll ever be, little brother.” Then I kissed his temple with a loud smack, something Torin wouldn’t do, and smirked when annoyance crossed Andris’s face. “Shouldn’t you be assisting me with the team?”

“You asked me to get Raine.” Andris pushed me away and swiped his temple. “Put your lips on me again and I’ll slug you.”

I reached for him again, lips puckered up for a kiss. “Come on, Andris. Just one kiss. Plant it right here, hot stuff.” I touched my lips.

He punched my arm hard. “You’re an ass.” Andris glanced at Lavania, who was watching us and trying hard not to laugh. “Stop enabling him. This shit is not funny.” He turned to leave. “I’ll be at the beach if you need me.”

I blocked his path. He balled his hand and I knew he would slug me. He took a step back as I let the image of me fill my head. I knew I was transforming back to me when blood drained from his face.

“Hel’s Mist! What… Since when…?” He stopped and glared when I started to laugh.

“You should see your face,” I said between bouts of laughter.

He wasn’t amused. “That was creepy. I should have guessed it wasn’t Torin. How did you do that?”

“She’s a Norn-in-training, Andris,” Lavania said by way of explanation. “Give us thirty minutes, then you can take her.”

“I prefer witch, or Seeress, or Völva-in-training,” I said.

Lavania just chuckled. Half an hour later, I went in search of Andris and found him eating in the kitchen while searching for things online. He grinned when I sat next to him.

“Can you shift into anything?” he asked.

“Not yet. Right now, I can shift into those I love because I know them. You know, features, facial expressions, mannerisms.” I showed him and from the way his eyes widened and color crept onto his face, I knew I had surprised him. “Hi, I’m Andris. Everyone wants a piece of me,” I said, imitating him. “Men or women, it doesn’t matter. Want to know why? Because I’m hot.”

“That’s so corny and so me.” A weird expression crossed his face. “I wish…”

I shifted back to myself. “What?”

“Nothing.”

I sighed. “You too? When are you Valkyries going to learn that ‘nothing’ is not an answer? It is a concept that has no meaning or value. You can’t answer me with nothing.”

He laughed. “You’re so weird. And yes, smarty pants. The answer in this case is nothing. Let’s go.”

“I’m not leaving until you explain, dufus.”

A glint appeared in his eyes. I was beginning to recognize that look on him. He was about to say something outrageous. Andris tended to be brutally honest.

“You should be mine instead of Torin’s,” he said.

He sounded serious. I didn’t think he was into me or felt anything lasting, but watching Torin and I get closer the last few months while he flitted from lover to lover couldn’t be satisfying. After all, he and Torin had been reaping together for centuries. He either felt left out or was simply jealous. And I knew there was only one way to deal with this.

“First of all, I’m not
his
. He’s mine. Second, you and me? Really? First, you complain that I’m mouthy, stubborn, and I let emotions control my actions. Recently I’ve been promoted to weird. Torin might complain, but he loves those qualities in me.
 
Second, you don’t have a type. Third, faithful is not in your DNA, which means I’d bore you in no time and then you’d break my heart.” I leaned and added, “And hell hath no greater fury than a witch scorned. I’d pay you back with a nastiest hex ever created and turn you into a eunuch. No, I’d make you see things.” He was laughing by the time I finished.

“But you can shift into anyone. Think of all the famous people you could turn into. I wouldn’t be bored or unfaithful because you can shift into, uh, actresses and actors. Models. Musicians. Tennis players. Lately, I seem to have a thing for tennis players.”

“And where would I be in your twisted world?”

He smirked. “You could be you once a month.”

“You’re an idiot.” I smacked the back of his head.

He chuckled. “Why? Because I’m honest instead of cheating?”

“No, because we all need a man who puts us first twenty-four-seven. When are you going to learn that?”

~*~

We appeared at the top stands inside the StubHub. Since it was only practice, there were few spectators. Probably parents and grandparents. In Kayville, the entire family usually came out to watch a kid play.

“Doesn’t the US National Soccer Team practice here?” I asked Andris.

“They’re on the road this week. I think they’re playing Peru and Brazil.”

“Did you rune lots of people in order to replace their coach?”

Andris chuckled. “Nope. The coaches are volunteers, so we just had their bosses promote them. With extra workloads, they had to step down from coaching. However, the LA Galaxy Academy soccer program is very organized, and I needed to bring my A-game to fix their roster of coaches.” Now he was bragging. “I added our names in their system, threw in our qualifications making your man the next most qualified person, and sent a few e-mails. It helped that Torin had coached youth soccer in England and knows Beckham.”

“Really?”

He shot me a disgusted look. “Of course not. But all he has to do is open his mouth and they believe anything he says. If I cared, I’d fake a British accent too.”

Except Torin’s accent was real. That he’d kept it for centuries was cool. I followed Andris down to where the parents were seated. Most were women.

Torin was walking up and down the side of the field, yelling instructions to the players. He removed his baseball cap, wiped his brow and slapped it back on his head. He took everything he did seriously. I sat behind some of the parents while Andris sauntered toward the field.

After a few minutes, I got bored. I should have brought a book. Sports weren’t my thing, but this was different. Torin and Andris wouldn’t be here unless some of these kids were going to die. Such a tragedy. The U-16 league was for sixteen and fifteen-year olds.
 
I touched my seat to see if I could get a vision.

Nothing.

I touched the next seat and the stadium disappeared.

In its place was a park and to my right was a man at a picnic with his wife and two daughters. The scene changed to show him at their graduation, then a wedding. I grinned as the vision faded.

Nice to see a happy family for a change. I reached behind me and got another vision. Nasty divorce, but the wife seemed happy. The last one had me yanking my hand from the seat. Pervert.

Obviously, the seats could only give me visions of their last occupants, not the catastrophe that was going to happen at this center. I might have to touch the turf on the field to get a reading, or the boys when their mother’s weren’t looking.

I studied the women in front of me. Some had their heads close together as they talked, their eyes on their kids. A few were on their phones. One had her e-reader on. I eavesdropped on the whispered conversation from the ones near me.

“I’m still angry at the way Coach Taylor abandoned our kids,” the brunette said. She wore white capris and a light blue top. She also had high-heeled sandals, not exactly what moms in Kayville wore to soccer.