“They don’t care about that,” I snapped, pushing her toward the portal, my strength runes engaged.
“Cora, we care, and we are so proud of you,” Mom called out. “Please, talk to us.”
Ignoring my parents, I pushed Raine back into the cottage. “What’s wrong with you? Since when did you become such a buttinsky?”
The portal closed behind us.
“What’s going on?” She scowled at me. “They don’t like you dating Echo?”
I scoffed at the idea. They loved him. “I’m not ready to talk about my parents. God, I wish I could rip them from my head and my heart. Such hypocrites.”
Shock flashed in Raine’s eyes.
“Please, don’t push. I’ll explain when I’m ready. Right now, tell me what to order for dinner, or go home to your husband.”
“Okay. Pizza.” Her eyes went to the TV, where a ship was frozen on the screen. “Vikings?”
“Don’t judge.”
“Never. Get brownies, too.”
“I’ll get more of everything in case the guys decide to join us.”
“Torin might. He’s checking in on his first recruit, a future Valkyrie.”
“Is he excited?” I asked, trying to focus on someone else rather than me.
Raine made a face. “You know him. He’s taking it seriously. I’m more worried about Andris. They’ve been together for centuries, and now he’ll be getting a new reaping partner. Maybe he should be reassigned to Lavania’s school. He’d make an amazing teacher.”
I scoffed. “Teaching what? Seduction 101?”
“Immortality: How to Piss Off the Norns. How to rune a woman just so you can have a playmate.”
“Make Mortals fall in love with you before they die,” I added. “Do you think they have an Andris Support Group in Valhalla for those he seduced and reaped?”
“Probably. Worse, they see him every time he brings in a new soul. ‘Hi, my name is Sarai. It’s been twenty hours since I last saw Andris. I still love and hate him.’ He is terrible.”
“He’s such an amazing guy I wish he’d be serious about something or someone.”
Having Raine around made me forget about my problems. We talked just like the old days. The food arrived first, then Torin and Echo. The fact that they came together didn’t escape us. They might not be best friends, but they were learning to tolerate each other. Raine flew into her husband’s arms like she hadn’t seen him in days, instead of hours. Echo lifted me up, took over the couch, and set me on his lap.
“Should we offer them the guest room?” he asked when Raine and Torin continued to kiss.
“Guest bedroom is that way, guys,” I called out.
Torin scooped her up. “Thanks, luv, but ours is a portal away. See you tomorrow.”
“No, see you in two hours,” Raine corrected as he engaged runes and the mirror in the living room responded. They disappeared inside their castle, and the portal closed.
“So what were you and Torin doing before you came home?” I asked.
“Who said…?” His voice trailed off when I lifted my head and gave him a do-not-lie-to-me look. “I wanted to know what Lord Worthington was up to. He was the leader of the group that went after orphans. I didn’t want him coming after you.”
“I thought his organization was destroyed.”
“It doesn’t mean he’s stopped. Torin took me to his club, and we had a little chat.”
“Is the club still standing?”
Echo chuckled. “Unfortunately. He was so cordial I wanted to punch his nose. Our talk lasted fifteen seconds.”
“Let me see. It probably went like this. ‘If you come after Cora, I will kill you and hide your body in an unmarked grave, then haul your worthless soul to Corpse Strand.’ Am I right?”
“You forgot I was with Torin. I told him his son would hide his body, and while in Corpse Strand, I’d make sure he fights the dragon every day. Being charbroiled at least once a week is the least he deserves.”
I laughed. “No, you didn’t.”
He flashed his famous I-did-it-and-enjoyed-every-second-of-it grin.
“And Torin did nothing?”
“He smirked the entire time. He hates the bastard but can’t kill him. I won’t have that problem if he ever hurts you.”
Something else occurred to me. “You didn’t mention me by name, did you? I haven’t told Raine what’s going on.”
“No, sweetheart. I wouldn’t mention you by name. That would be telling him my weakness. Men like him always find a man’s Achilles’ heel, and you”—he pressed a kiss on my forehead—“are mine. I warned him against going after other orphans because I have a vetted interest in their well-being.”
That was my man. He would raze the earth to the ground for me. I was lucky that way.
“Are all the orphans Immortal?”
He nodded. “Most were runed by their parents when they were young.”
Would my life have turned out differently if my parents had done that? We would never know. Torin and Raine rejoined us hours later and sat through two episodes of Vikings without complaining. I wasn’t sure whether it was historically accurate or if they were just being supportive of our weird habits.
“Want to come to a soccer game in California tomorrow?” Raine asked before they left.
I made a face and glanced at Torin. “Your club soccer team is playing?”
He shook his head. “World Cup, Uruguay versus USA.”
Soccer didn’t interest me. “I’ll pass, but we could hang out later.”
“Great!” Raine glanced at Torin, and he cocked an eyebrow. “Not after the game, Cora. We’re celebrating Torin’s birthday. Belated birthday party. Just the two of us. We could meet on Sunday. The women want us to hang out.”
Damn. I was hoping I could talk to her alone. “Women?”
“Lavania, Mom, Ingrid, and Femi, but we could ditch them. They want to share news about Mystic Academy. Don’t know what the big deal is. I know Monday is school for you, and I don’t want to keep you.”
“I’m going to miss school next week, too.”
Raine looked ready to ask more questions.
“Just count me in. Now go,” I said. “I need time alone with my man, or you won’t be invited to the wedding.” She winced. I knew I was hitting below the belt, but I didn’t want to explain my messed-up life. “Go. Love you.”
We hugged. “I’m so sorry about the wedding. I will make it up to you some day. I promise.” I waited until she left before saying, “That was mean of me. I know she did it to protect me, but still…”
“Cora-mia, there’s so much you don’t know,” Echo said mysteriously.
I didn’t understand what that had to do with missing Raine’s wedding, but he was right. I didn’t want to meet my biological parents yet, but I should still learn about what Mom and Dad had protected me from.
“Can you introduce me to an orphan? I was hoping to talk to Raine about Eirik and how he dealt with things, but our experiences are different. He was summoned to Asgard right away, and when he returned, his mother wanted to see him.” I shivered.
I hoped my parents, whoever they were, weren’t powerful. The last thing I needed was an army of guards from some god summoning me. I had no interest in visiting other realms, except Hel. But that was for Echo.
“Maybe I’ll talk to Eirik next, but for now, I want to meet an Earth-bound orphan.”
“We’ll go tomorrow morning.”
The next morning, we appeared inside a store with everything a Witch could possibly need. Shelves of grimoires, cauldrons, crystals, candles, and ointments. The store didn’t appear busy, but the few browsers inside were stocking up on things.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Windfall, a small town outside New Orleans. Tammy adopted Hayden, though both of them were orphans. Tammy remembers being in Jötunheim, but Hayden was brought here as a baby and doesn’t remember much.”
Hayden? It was a unique name, yet i
t sounded familiar. Where had I heard it before? We reached the front of the store, and I stared at the displayed athames and Wiccan jewelry. Racks of cloaks and T-shirts with cute sayings were to the right of the entrance. A woman in her early-to-mid thirties was ringing up a customer’s purchases and looked up. Her face paled when she saw us.
“She’s scared of you. What did you do?” I whispered.
Echo made a face. “Nothing. I’m the good guy here. I helped rescue the orphans. That’s Tammy.” He looked around. “Hayden should be here somewhere.”
I went to check out the T-shirts and smiled at some of the writings while Echo walked to Tammy. Raine might like them. I chose two and glanced over my shoulder to find Echo with Tammy. He was talking to her, while she studied me with a weird expression.
A door to my right opened, and a girl with flawless brown skin and curly hair with natural blonde highlights stepped out. A memory teased me and disappeared. Her eyes lit up when she saw Echo. How exactly did they know each other?
I moved closer, feeling a little jealous. I frowned. The perfume she wore was familiar, too, and her eyes lit up as though she was happy to see me.
“Hi, Cora,” she said.
“Hi. Have we met before?” I asked.
Something flickered in her eyes, but it disappeared so fast I couldn’t tell what it was. “I’ve heard so much about you and Raine.”
“From?”
“Celestia.”
I rubbed my temple. Another name that sounded familiar. Maybe Raine had mentioned them in passing. “Who is Celestia?”
She frowned and glanced at Echo. “Eirik’s girlfriend and my best friend,” she said, speaking slowly as though regretting mentioning them.
“Eirik has a girlfriend?” I punched Echo on the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me? No, don’t answer that. Whatever happens in Helheim stays in Helheim. Stupid rule. Nice to meet you, Hayden, and you too, Tammy.” The older woman smiled, but her eyes were still wary. My habit of always carrying an ID and a credit card paid off. “Can I buy these?”
“Take them,” Tammy said.
I tried to protest.
“Don’t bother,” Hayden said. “Once she makes up her mind, there’s no changing it. You haven’t spoken to Eirik?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him in months. Well, except on Saturday when he sent his pet hound to help us get rid of dark souls.”
“Garm?”
“Yes. He’s become very secretive. I doubt he’s told Raine about Celestia or I’d know. ”
Hayden pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Echo. “So you haven’t spoken to Eirik either since last week?”
“No. When we returned to Eljudnir, they packed up and left for Asgard. I have no idea when they’ll be back.”
Hayden blew out a breath. “Okay. Mom said you wanted to talk. Um, we could use our back office or go upstairs to our apartment.”
“I have a better idea,” Echo said. “We can go to our place. I promised to listen to Dev’s ramblings while you two talk. Can we use your back office to open a portal?”
Hayden nodded. “Sure. This way.”
“Pass my regards to your mother, Cora,” Tammy said. “She was very nice to me when I was recovering.” I stared at her for a brief moment, too shocked to react. Of course, she’d know the Jemisons. They were all Immortals.
I nodded and followed Hayden into a room with a round table. Echo opened a portal to the cottage. Dev was pacing impatiently when we entered the room and stopped. There was something different about him. He spread his arms and turned around.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He palmed his face and slithered into the TV. It flickered on, and his image appeared on the screen in front of the logos. His eyes went to Hayden and stayed on her.
“It’s rude to stare, Dev,” I said.
“Sorry, but she is exquisite, and I never forget a face. Have we met?”
“No, you haven’t. Let’s go, smokey,” Echo said rudely. “They want to be alone.”
“Sometimes I wonder what Cora sees in you, Brother. You are an ass on a good day and a piss poor excuse for a Druid on a bad day. Introduce us.”
Echo shot Dev a venomous look. Echo was proud of his heritage, and for anyone to question it was like waving a red flag to a bull.
“You will be taking that back before the day is over, Brother,” Echo said, imitating Dev’s beautiful Irish accent. Then he gave us his heart-melting smile. “What do you ladies want to drink? I can mix something at the bar or head to the nearest Starbucks.”
“Water is fine,” Hayden said. She was still staring at Dev. “I’m Hayden Ferrand.”
“Devyn Graenenson, but everyone calls me Dev.”
“Do you only possess electronics, Dev?”
“No. I possess people too, but I’m one of the good guys, so don’t frown. I help the dying or those in comas. I possess them and give them some of my energy so they can communicate with their families, which is why I look this amazing. Notice anything different about me, doll-face?” he asked, glancing at me. He spread his arms, and his small image turned a circle on the screen.
“Your energy is clearer,” I said. “How many people have you helped this week?”
“A lot. I lost count after the woman who cursed her sons for faking sadness and told them she made a new will so they weren’t getting a dime. Then there was the man who confused his wife of forty years for his mistress. Did I mention that Mortals are horrible beings? They made me wish I’d never volunteered to help them. I’ll leave you two ladies so I can talk to my brother before heading out again. I have a personal deadline.” He winked at us and floated out of the TV.
Echo brought us drinks—water for Hayden and root beer for me—then joined Dev. He closed the door behind him.
“You must lead quite an interesting life,” Hayden said.
“It’s been quite a ride, but with Echo by my side, nothing seems impossible. He and Dev go way back to their childhood.”
“I didn’t know reapers could deliberately not reap souls.”
“Usually souls who don’t want to be reaped run, which is what Dev did. When he came to me, he was a mass of smoke with barely any shape, but then I learned about his history with Echo and that he was redeeming himself by helping the dying, and I chose to help him.” I glanced toward the closed door.
I returned to studying her, the feeling of déjà vu growing stronger. Everything about her—her mannerism, her voice, even the riotous curls with blond highlights—was familiar.
“So what’s going on?” Hayden asked. “Echo said you want to know more about my life. Instead, you are staring and frowning.”
“Sorry. You look so familiar, and not knowing where we’ve met is driving me crazy.”
“Maybe our paths crossed when we were young. You heard Mom. She knows your mother. We moved around a lot. That was our life, and the life of other orphans I knew. Mom took odd jobs here and there, got us a place to stay until the Immortals after us were sighted. Then, one of the parents took the kids into hiding while the rest acted as decoys.”
“That’s so sad. Did you ever have friends growing up?”
“No. Even though we moved a lot, we didn’t live together as a group. The combined magical energy would have attracted the attention of the Immortals after us. A very evil giantess marked some of us, so we were always aware of each other. I could go to a new school and pick out the orphans based on that connection. So no, I never made lasting relationships until Mom opened TC in Windfall and I met Celestia.”
“What is this connection?”
“A thread of energy connecting us.”
I wondered if I had it. “Did you always know you were adopted?”
“Yes, and it’s not because I’m biracial,” she added, grinning. “Mom told me when a kid in kindergarten pointed out my skin and said it was different from Mom’s, and that I must be someone else’s baby. I went home crying. Mom likes to say I chose her. She’d tell
me how most kids don’t get to choose their parents, but I took one look at her and smiled, and”—Hayden chuckled—“she knew she was meant to be my mother. She took me home and never looked back once.” Hayden twisted the lid off her bottle and sipped the water. “And I’d never trade her for another.”
My parents’ faces flashed in my head. They’d chosen me among all the other children, and that meant something. I tried to imagine my life with somebody else, but I couldn’t.
“But constantly moving must have been hard,” I said.
“It sucked. But when we weren’t moving, we had fun. Things just got crazy the last few months with the evil Immortals.” The light in her eyes dimmed. “The evil giantess who marked us was powerful, and some of us were weak and fell prey to her grandiose plans. Yet here we are.”
Just like Maliina had marked me, and I survived her evil ass. “Did you always know you were different?”
She laughed. “I’m a Witch, Cora. Even though I’m Immortal now, I’ll always be a Witch. And yes, I’ve always known I was different. Tammy encouraged me to embrace my abilities when they first appeared and helped me master them. Embrace who you are and you won’t have anything to fear, she often said.”
If only my parents had felt that way. “What are your abilities?”
“Power of persuasion. I can get inside your head and make you do and say things. Mess with your memories, so you forget them.”
“Like Norns?”
She grimaced. “I’m not at their level, unless I work with another mind controller. Then I can give the Norns serious competition. Alone, I just mess with teachers and difficult customers.”
I liked her. Something about her reminded me of Raine. “Do you ever wonder about your biological parents?”
She made a face. “Not anymore. I used to, but now I have no interest in meeting them. They lost their chance when they let me go.”
“Let you go?”
“Not all Orphans lost their parents. Sometimes they were given away.”
I knew that wasn’t the case for me. I almost wished it was.
“We were in Jötunheim and Svartelfheim, and word spread fast that some of the orphans were back. I didn’t see a crowd of parents beating down the doors, trying to claim them. Your boyfriend, Eirik, Celestia, and a bunch of us claimed them instead.” She bit her lower lip and scrunched her face. Despite her nonchalant attitude, she was hurt by their indifference. “So, no, I have zero interest in meeting mine. So why the interest in orphans?”
Goddess: A Runes Book Page 5