Echo laughed. “Actually, it’s possible. I knew Druids who could bring the dead back to life if a body was still fresh and the soul hadn’t moved on.”
“Really? That’s awesome. So we need to find a fresh body for Dev?”
“No, we don’t. Rhys kept his body and preserved it using magic. All we need is someone with the ability to anchor a soul to a body.”
“Can my runes work? Medium runes make it easy for souls to possess a body.”
“And that’s because you have a life force, which souls borrow. That’s why you always feel drained after a possession. A dead body has zero life force. We need a healer, a life force manipulator. Unfortunately, I haven’t met a Witch with ergokinetic abilities in the last several centuries. And even if they have it, they wouldn’t tell anyone. It is a powerful and rare gift, which can be exploited by both magical and non-magical people. Those who have it guard it and keep it a secret.” He sighed. “At least one good thing will come out of starting Mystic Academy. We’ll know who has what powers. We might get lucky and find someone who can help him.”
I wanted to go to that school so badly I could taste it. I hoped there would be people like me who weren’t born with abilities, but were willing to acquire them through runes. I’d love to mentor future mediums. I had to talk to my parents. Today. I also wanted to go to Hel for Echo, no matter how scared I was.
“I’ll talk to my parents before I go to the hospital, and you should talk to the goddess about us. No more secrets. What do you think?”
“I’m on board.” He glanced at me and grinned. “Distract me.”
I kissed his neck and slipped a hand under his shirt to caress his chest.
“You can do better than that,” he challenged.
I could and did. He veered off the road and almost crashed through the fence into the Melbecks’ vineyard. Luckily, we were closer to the farm and traffic was low. I was still laughing when we parked outside our house. Mom’s truck was parked beside Dad’s SUV and my Elantra, which meant they were both home.
“Well?” I teased.
He kissed me. “You are an evil woman.”
“You issued a challenge, and I accepted it. What did I get in return? You almost crashed the car.”
He laughed. “I’m crazy about you, Cora-mia.”
“Good, because I’m crazy about you, too.” God, I hoped my parents would be okay with what he was.
“What is it?” Echo asked.
“I’m still worried about Mom. Something is off with her.” Her erratic behavior had started on Saturday, the day of our high school prom. She’d looked like she’d been crying while I’d slept off an energy drain from a possession. Then she’d burst into tears the second she’d seen me. Mom was not the crying type. Dad had to take our prom pictures instead of her, and he kind of sucked at it.
“Have you tried talking to her?”
“Several times, but she keeps saying she’s okay. Do you think she knows about my abilities? I’ve caught her staring at me with a weird expression.”
“I don’t know, Cora-mia, but if you want me there while you talk to them, I can come inside.”
“No, I’ll be fine. If they need further proof of your world, I’ll show them. I mean, I can do everything you do.”
He scoffed at the idea.
“Hey.” I smacked his arm. “I can move fast now that I have speed runes, become invisible, open portals, and talk to a soul better than you. You yell and threaten them, while I just stand there like a saint. No, like an angel, and they flock to me. I might not have a size-changing runic scythe, but my body is a magnet for souls, so we are even.”
Laughing, he leaned in and stole a kiss. “I have almost a thousand years on you, sweet cheeks. Now get your lovely ass out of my car before I open a portal to my bedroom and show you who can do things better.”
“You have a one-track mind.”
“Yet you still love me.”
“Like I said, I’m a saint.”
He laughed. “Sweetheart, you may have the face of an angel, but sainthood is not for you.”
“And who corrupted me?” I got out of the car. “A certain reaper who won’t be getting any.”
His door swung open, and his head appeared on the other side of the hood. “You can’t be serious.”
“Bye.” I wiggled my fingers and laughed when he growled. He was still staring at me with a lost puppy expression when I reached the patio. I blew him a kiss and disappeared inside. The playfulness disappeared when I saw my parents.
Mom’s eyes were red, again. And Dad wore a helpless look as he cleaned his glasses, something he did when he got emotional. I dropped my books on the table with a thud and moved closer to his writing nook where they stood, worry and anger colliding inside me.
Chapter 2. The Truth
“What’s going on? And no more hedging or telling me it’s nothing.” My eyes volleyed between them. “You’d better not be getting a divorce because I will drag you guys to the nearest marriage counselor first.”
“Oh, honey,” Mom whispered, her voice shaking.
No. Not a divorce. My throat closed up, and my eyes smarted. Their unwavering love for each other was another constant in my life. So much had changed the last year that if they got divorced now, it would rip my world apart.
“You always said family came first and we stick together through thick and thin, so whatever it is, I need to know.”
Mom pulled me into her arms, tears racing down her face. “Of course, we’re not getting a divorce. Your father would be lost without us.” She chuckled through her tears.
She was joking now? I wiggled free from her arms and studied her tear-stained face.
“Then what is it? You taught me to always face new challenges no matter how daunting. I’ve never seen you cry… except when you dropped me off at the middle school that first time. I saw you through the window, so I cried, too.” Then another thought occurred to me. “You’re not sick, are you? You would tell me instead of hiding it like Raine’s parents did, right?” My eyes flew to my father. “Dad?”
“No one is sick, but there’s something we need to tell you.”
No divorce and no illness, then it couldn’t be bad. “Okay. Let’s sit down. Mom, would you like tea?”
“Yes, dear.”
I kissed her cheek and touched Dad’s arm. “Dad?”
“Something soothing would be nice.”
I went into the kitchen while they settled on the couch. While I waited for the water to boil, I munched on a banana. I placed organic chamomile teabags in three mugs. One mug had two definitions of a mother.
Mom: A hero that does whatever it takes to get things done.
Mom: One who is never wrong about anything.
The other said Dad’s Memorable Moments:
Unforgettable: December 16th
Memorable: July 29th
The first was my birthday and the second their anniversary. Both were gifts from me. Mom wasn’t big on processed foods, so I added honey to our drinks. I was starting to act like her. Echo had a sweet tooth, so I could see us in the future, me with my healthy, homemade non-fat yogurt while he binged on some cream-filled pastries packed with empty calories. I’d probably join him. He had a way of making me do things I was unsure about and love them. Nah, I doubted I’d ever go completely healthy. I loved Twizzlers, especially after a possession.
I glanced over at my parents and found Mom wringing her hands. Dad had disappeared. I opened my mouth to ask her where he was when he appeared on the stairs. He was carrying a green cloth. Mom took it and folded it on her lap.
My mother was the strongest woman I knew. She would not break down like this over nothing. Whatever this was, we would work on it together.
I gave them their drinks. On a different day, they would have chuckled over my choice of mugs. This wasn’t the first time I’d used cocoa or tea in mugs with pithy words to smooth over a squabble. Something was definitely different this time. My parents wore stricken expr
essions.
“You guys are really scaring me now. What’s going on?”
Mom put her drink down without sipping it and reached for Dad’s hand, forcing him to relinquish his mug. He patted her hand. Since I was on the adjacent chair and closest to her, she reached for my hand, too, and squeezed it gently.
“First, we want you to know that we love you very much,” Dad said.
A hollow feeling settled in my stomach.
“I know, Dad.”
“I remember the first time I saw you.” He shook his head and chuckled. “You had lungs on you. You didn’t just lie in your crib and coo like other children. You demanded attention and caught ours. Your mother took one look at you and knew you were the one for us.”
Confused, my eyes volleyed between them. “What are you talking about?”
“The day we adopted you. We knew you were the one for us from the moment we entered the nursery and heard you scream.”
The pit in my stomach widened. “I’m adopted?”
They nodded. Stunned, I stared at them. No, this couldn’t be happening. They were Mom and Dad. My parents. Everything I knew about them zipped through my head.
“No,” I whispered.
Mom inched closer. “Honey, I know it’s a shock.”
“Why?” I stared at her, my brain in shambles as I tried to think up words to deny what they were saying.
“Why did we adopt you?” Mom asked. “Because—”
“Not that. Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
They looked at each other, and Mom sighed. “Because it didn’t matter. You were our daughter.”
“Were?”
“You still are, but things have changed. The reason you see souls is connected with who your biological parents are”—Mom started to sniffle—“and where you came from.”
Blood drained from my head. The damn pit was now a black hole. “You know I see souls?”
“Yes,” they said in unison.
“When you were young, you called them your invisible friends,” Mom added. “It was part of the reason we decided to homeschool you. We weren’t sure whether the runes we used would block your ability.”
I pulled my hand from Mom’s and sunk deep into my seat. “Runes? You know about runes? Wait. Did you say you used runes to block my ability? And I’d seen souls as a child?” What about Maliina and the medium runes she’d etched on me? She was the reason I saw souls, wasn’t she? “I don’t understand.”
“I think we should start from the beginning, dear,” Dad said and glanced at Mom. She reached for my hand again, but I shook my head and crossed my arms, hugging myself, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.
“We are Immortals, Cora. We came to this country from Ireland in the early seventeen hundreds, moved around the country as most Immortals do, and reinvented ourselves over and over again. Because we had to do that, we never had children of our own. Fifty years ago, we decided we’d lived a rich and fulfilling life and it was time to age gracefully. We stopped adding more healing runes, and without them repairing our cells, we started to age. We’d heard about a special adoption among Immortals, but we never thought to pursue it until we moved to Kayville and found a thriving community of Immortals here.”
“There are other Immortals like you?” I asked in a tiny voice. I knew about Svana and her friends, as well as Blaine, Lavania, Ingrid, and the Sevilles. That was it.
Mom nodded. “Yes. The Immortals here protected the orphans from those who would hurt them and supported each other, so we joined them. We got in touch with a representative of the adoption agency and told them we were interested in adopting a baby. So when the new ones arrived, someone got in touch with us.”
I was drowning in nowhere land, every breath I took hurting. “Arrived from where?”
“Other realms. We didn’t know who brought them here until recently. We just knew they were orphans from other realms.”
“Were you ever going to tell me the truth?”
Their faces said they weren’t.
“What changed? Why are you confessing now?”
“We wanted to keep you safe.”
“From what?” I snapped.
“There was a group of evil Immortals searching for the orphans from other realms. The Immortals were like us, born here on earth and turned by runes. They felt they deserved to move between realms and visit the gods because of the way they’ve defended humanity over the years.”
“Are you talking about Lord Worthington and the Immortals Raine and the others fought?” I asked, astonished. Did they know everything?
“Yes. Before they came here after Raine, they targeted the other orphans, those who have the right to move between realms. Children like you. It took Eirik weeks to find the Immortals and rescue the children.”
I blinked. “Eirik Seville?”
“Yes. He goes by Eirik Baldurson now because he is the son of Goddess Hel and God Baldur.”
“I know who his parents are,” I yelled. “And I don’t want to discuss him or the other orphans. You lied to me. Everything about our life is a lie.”
“Cora,” Mom and Dad said in unison. Mom reached for my arm, and I jumped up.
“Don’t. Do you have any idea how much I’ve agonized over telling you the truth about Echo and my ability to see souls. Oh God. You’ve known Echo was a reaper all this time?”
“Yes. At first we thought he was an Immortal, but…” Mom glanced at Dad. “Yes, we know he is a reaper.”
The past zipped through my head: Echo kissing me right in front of them during breakfast. Echo standing behind me and saying naughty things while Dad stood in the doorway of my bedroom. Everything we’d ever done while thinking they couldn’t see us…
“You overheard and saw everything. The runes on my car after I met him, when he’d come to my room and even in here, you knew, yet you acted like he wasn’t there. How could you?”
“Pumpkin,” Dad said.
“Cora,” Mom muttered at the same time and extended her hand toward me. I took a step back.
“How could you know and not say anything? Everything about you, me, us is a sham. We are a mockery of a family. Let me guess, the psych ward you took me to was not really a nuthouse, was it?” They didn’t have to admit it. It was written on their faces. “You tried to fix me again so I wouldn’t see souls and you could continue lying to me.”
Tears swam in Mom’s eyes. “We thought it was for the best, honey.”
“Best for whom, Mom? Obviously not for me. Why now? And don’t lie to me. Just once, tell me the truth.”
“Your parents want to meet you,” Mom said and lifted the green cloth on her lap. “This blanket is yours. They didn’t give you away. You were stolen from them, and they’ve been searching for you for a very long time.”
I was too hurt to feel pity for imaginary people.
“Screw them.”
“Cora!” my parents snapped.
“Exactly. Cora. That’s who I am. I’m not meeting some strangers who didn’t watch me closely enough eighteen years ago. I’m not walking away from the life I have. The life I’m meant to live.” Tears threatened to spill. I turned and yanked the door open.
“Where are you going, Cora?” Mom yelled in a pleading tone.
“Far away from you. Don’t bother coming after me because I will not come back.” I engaged my speed runes and took off.
I ran until my chest and feet hurt. My high-heeled boots weren’t built for speed, and I’d lost one heel somewhere along the forest. Giant trees whispered and swayed as though to soothe my pain. I dropped to my knees, and the banana I’d eaten spewed from my mouth until nothing was left in my stomach. I staggered back and sat on a log. I wanted to curl up right there and waste away.
Strong arms lifted me and cradled me close.
“Tell me who hurt you, Cora-mia,” Echo said soothingly, but his body was taut with anger.
Hearing his voice only made things worse. I couldn’t talk, so I clung to him.
He opened a portal, walked across the main bedroom of the cottage to the large bed, and held me while I cried. We stayed there until I was rung out.
“Who hurt you? Is it Raine?” He sounded like he would take on my best friend, who would never knowingly hurt me.
“They knew, Echo,” I mumbled in his chest. “All this time, they’ve known about you and about me seeing souls, and they never said a thing. Even when you visited my house and spent the night in my room, they knew.”
“Your parents?”
“Yes. They lied to me. Everything about them is a lie. My whole life is… is a lie.”
“Why would they lie? And how do they know about me?”
I leaned back to see his confused expression. “They are Immortals.”
Shock flashed in his eyes. Then a frown chased it.
I told him everything and ended with, “They said my biological parents want to meet me. I don’t care. I never want to meet them.”
Echo sighed and ran his knuckles up and down my arms. Usually his touch soothed me, but not this time.
“I’m so sorry, baby. Keeping such a big secret was a terrible thing to do to you, and you have every right to be angry. How could I not have known about them being Immortals?”
“They stopped using runes fifty years ago.”
“I still should have known. There is a bright side to this,” he said softly. “Since you are one of the orphans, I can share things from the other realms with you.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“But it might help clarify things for you. I helped Eirik find the other orphans. Most of them didn’t know they were originally from the other realms either. They were scared, confused, and just wanted to come back home to Earth. To the Immortal parents who’d adopted them, and to the only homes they’d ever known.”
“Did their parents lie to them about who they were, or had they always known?”
A thoughtful expression settled on his face.
“Did they lie?”
“No.”
“Mine did.”
“The other orphans knew they were adopted, and that bad Immortals were after them. They spent their lives moving from place to place, never staying anywhere for long. Your parents and the Immortals here worked hard together to hide you and the other children and keep you safe.”
Goddess: A Runes Book Page 3